All Grown Up
by The Werewolf Mage
Summary: Ciaran and Wendi are getting married! Remus is fine with it, but Gen is not so sure the wedding will go off without a hitch.
1. Chapter 1

Title: All Grown Up

Summary: Ciaran and Wendi are getting married! Remus is fine with it, but Gen is not so sure the wedding will go off without a hitch.

I AU'd my AU. Aren't I great? But I did promise I'd have this up this week so you guys can't complain. It would have been up sooner, but the site was messing up all morning. Ah, well, enjoy.

Chapter 1

Two parents were sitting at their kitchen one morning, nibbling breakfast, reading the paper and discussing their son's recent engagement.

"He's far too young, Remus!" Gwendolyn Lupin sighed, dropping her toast and staring at him. "I don't see why you have no problem with this!"

"I'm just glad he's speaking to me." Remus said with a slight shrug. "Besides, you were younger than that when you had him, so you really don't have any room to talk."

"But it was different!" she said, brushing her bangs out of her face and sighing. "We don't have the threat of Voldemort hanging over our heads anymore! They should just take it slower."

"Gwendolyn, you can't baby him forever. He's an adult now." She started to glare at the back of the paper since she could see him. "And stop glaring at me! You know it's true."

She heaved another sigh and said, "But she's still a teenager."

"She'll be twenty next month. And Ciaran's already twenty."

"Oh, gee, don't take up for me." she spat, dumping her dishes into the sink and huffing off to the living room. She sat muttering darkly to herself for a few moments. She reluctantly hopped to her feet to answer the door.

"Morning, Mum." Ciaran said with a weak smile. "I hope you don't mind us coming over this early?"

Gen merely shook her head and stood aside to let them in. Ciaran looked tired and a bit reserved but gave his mother a swift hug none the less. Wendi timidly followed behind. She smiled sheepishly at Gen, as though she knew what Gen and Remus had just been discussing.

Remus headed into the living and smiled slightly. "Ciaran, I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

"Uh, sure." Ciaran muttered, following his father into the kitchen.

Wendi smiled softly at Gen who did not return it. "Um..." Wendi muttered sheepishly, brushing her dark red bangs out of her face. "I, ah, told Ciaran it was a bit early to come by." she said softly, looking away from Gen.

"It's OK." Gen muttered, sinking back into her chair. She had never known Wendi to be so timid. But then again, she wasn't exactly in the best mood, so it was no wonder Wendi looked nervous.

Ciaran and Remus, as it were, were having a nice little father-son chat. "What's up with Mum?" Ciaran asked as soon as they had sat at the table. "I don't think I've seen her this upset in ages."

"She's just having a hard time accepting the fact that you're getting married." Remus muttered, glancing at his son.

"Why? I thought she was fine with it."

"She thinks you're too young."

Ciaran scoffed and glanced towards the living room before asking, "Are you serious?" Remus nodded. "But you got married at my age."

"I know, but she says things were different then." He managed a small smile before continuing, "But that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about."

"This is... going to be an awkward father-son discussion type thing, isn't it?"

"Kind of. I was just wondering... are you sure this is right, Ciaran? I mean, the girl is a Muggle. And you're a werewolf. And if anything -- "

Ciaran held up a hand to stop him. "Look, you both know how I am about Wendi. And she is coping with all of this just fine."

"But what about children?" Remus interjected. "If you two have children, they run the risk of not only being magical, but also they could wind up being werewolves."

"She and I have talked about that, too. Don't worry about it." Ciaran muttered, standing up and heading back into the living room. "And you," he added, leaning against the back of his mother's chair, "stop being a hypocrite."

"I'm not, Ciaran." Gen sighed. "But I -- "

"Don't, OK? If you've got a problem with this, then just don't come to the wedding!"

Wendi glanced nervously at Gen and Remus before following Ciaran out the door. "That was harsh!" she whispered to him. 

"Well, usually she's so understanding." Ciaran sighed. "Look, she'll come around, I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

All Grown Up

Ah, I just love Gen's protective motherly-ness. It's so cute. Wheee! I need to update Stranded, haven't in a while. Ah, well, this is more important. :D

Chapter 2

"Ciaran, are you sure she'll come around? I mean, she's just looking out for you. You didn't have to be that harsh." Wendi said softly in between sips of her smoothie. The two of them were sitting outside a small cafe, talking about wedding plans and his mother, obviously.

"She doesn't have to be a bloody hypocrite about it." he countered.

"She's not being a hypocrite, Ciaran! I thought you loved your mother? She's just keeping your best interests in mind!"

Ciaran sighed heavily. "Of course I love my mother, Wendi. She raised me, didn't she? And what do you mean, my best interests? She just says I'm too young!"

"Well," Wendi said with a sigh of her own, "we are a bit young. And let me finish before you interrupt, OK? You, granted you have no magical education besides your mother teaching you, could go places. I'm just a Muggle. Your mother doesn't want you to just throw everything away just to be with me. And I understand that. You mean everything to your mother, and she wants you to succeed. Maybe we could reconsider this, at least until we both have jobs and a place of our own. Because I know how much you hate living in my childhood home. And your mum would be happy."

Ciaran was quiet for a little while, absorbing all she had said. "But Wendi," he began after a long pause, "I'm not throwing everything away to be with you. And I don't mean everything to her. My father does."

Wendi scoffed and corrected herself, "You both mean the world to her. How would she feel if you just completely screwed your life up?"

"Do I take it you don't want to get married, then?"

"No! Of course I do! But I don't want your mother mad at you or me, or whoever."

Ciaran looked angry, but then he started to laugh. "Oh, no, she's not mad. She's just worried, like you said. You really want to make her mad?"

"No!"

Ciaran continued to laugh. "I have a feel you know what I was going to say."

"What, get me pregnant?"

"Exactly. Granted, I think my father would be the one to kill me."

Wendi started to giggle. "Is that what he wanted to talk about?"

"Mm-hmm." Ciaran nodded. "I swear, he'd skin me alive. And that's not something my father would usually do."

Wendi smiled gently and said, "Ciaran, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"What? You know you can ask me anything."

She hesitated, then asked, "If we have kids, will they be magical? And will they be werewolves? OK, so I lied. That was two questions."

Ciaran considered his words carefully before answering her. "There's a chance for both of that. Of course, the chance of our kids being magical is higher than the chance of them being werewolves. It's not the greatest of odds, like a one in one thousand chance of us having a werewolf child. I think that's what my dad said, anyway."

At the look on her face, he added, "Wendi, listen, it's not like it's the worst thing in the world. I can deal with my. My dad can deal with it. It's really not as bad as people make it out to be. But, who says we'll have werewolf children, anyway?"

She started to perk up and said, "Who knows? We might not have kids."

"Hey, I didn't say I didn't want kids."

"And who says I do?" she countered, trying not to giggle. "Little brown haired, blue-eyed werewolves running around. Who wants that?"

"Me!"

"You're too much, Ciaran, honestly." she giggled, getting to her feet. "Now come on. I want to get home before it gets too late."

"Fine." he said with a faux defeated sigh. He brushed a light kiss against her cheek and said, "But I am not too much."


	3. Chapter 3

All Grown Up

Aw, deep deep down, Wendi KNOWS she wants cute little brown-haired, blue-eyed werewolves.

Chapter 3

Gen sighed weakly and sank down on her couch, wondering whether or not her son had meant what he said. "Gen, you know he didn't mean that. He was just upset with you."

"That makes me feel better." she said with a sarcastic sniffle.

Remus frowned and said, "Look, don't get so bent out of shape. You know he loves you."

"Yes, he does, Remus, I know that, but..." she sighed again. "But I feel like I didn't raise him right."

"Of course you did." Remus muttered. "Listen, if it'll make you feel better, why don't you go talk to him? Or I'll talk to him if you want me to."

She smiled slightly and asked, "Will you?"

He nodded and brushing a light kiss on her cheek before grabbing his cloak. "I'll be back soon. Hopefully in one piece."

"Oh, Remus, don't joke like that!"

"I'm not joking!"

Gen frowned at him and muttered, "Maybe I should go."

Remus gave her a reassuring smile and said, "No, I can handle it, Gwendolyn. Don't worry about it."

Gen, however, continued to worry. She had kind of wanted to go talk to her son on her own. She wasn't too sure having Remus talk to Ciaran was the right thing.

A knock on the door interrupted her brooding. Of course she was hoping it was Ciaran. But it turned out to be Wendi. "Hi." she smiled softly. "Um, I hope you don't dropping by. Ciaran wanted to talk to his dad alone, so..."

"It's all right." Gen sighed. "I really don't mind. I'm just not good company right now, sweetie."

"I'm sorry about Ciaran." Wendi said softly. "I've tried talking to him for you, but he's so stubborn."

"Just like me." Gen said with a weak grin. "That boy, I swear, I don't know what I'm going to do with him."

Wendi giggled nervously and said, "Me either. He – he was talking about having kids earlier."

Gen let out a noise of disapproval. "Oh, no. I think I'm the only mother in the world who will say I don't want grandchildren."

Wendi looked highly taken aback and said, "But why? Surely not because Ciaran's a werewolf?"

"That's exactly why, Wendi." Gen sighed and continued, "You know, I know Ciaran wasn't born a werewolf, but, who's to say yours wouldn't? I mean, both Ciaran and his father are werewolves, so there's, like, double the risk."

"But – but Ciaran wants kids. And I don't know -- "

Gen started to laugh, which cut Wendi off. She looked slightly harassed, but Gen smiled and said, "I'm not the one to talk to about that. Ciaran's father didn't want kids, at first."

"But didn't you have Ciaran before you got married?"

"I did." Gen smiled. "You see, I was sharing a loft with Remus at that time. And I kind of tricked him into sleeping with me. Once. Just once." Gen started to laugh again. "Don't give me that look, Wendi, you would have done the same thing."

She giggled and said, "I think Ciaran'll be the one to do something like that."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Gen sighed sadly.

"So... Ciaran's dad... did he love you before that, or just married you because you had Ciaran?"

Gen smiled and said, "Oh, he cared. It just took me getting pregnant for him to realize that."

"Awww! That's sweet."

"I know." Gen smiled wistfully. "I hope Remus is having luck with Ciaran. I hate having him mad at me."

"I'm sure he'll come around." Wendi smiled. "He's just been grumpy lately."

"Lately?" Gen asked. "He's ALWAYS grumpy." The two of them started to giggle. "Oh, he's too much like his father." Gen sighed after they had stopped.

"He'll never admit it, though." Wendi said sadly.

"He's such a prude." Gen frowned. "And so uptight."

"But we love him anyway."


	4. Chapter 4

All Grown Up

Ain't they just so sweet, though? I love the whole: "And I kind of tricked him into sleeping with me." thing.

And, I think we deserve this chapter.

Chapter 4

"Mum sent you over, didn't she?" Ciaran asked casually after shutting the door behind Wendi as she left.

"She did." Remus said, unfastening his cloak and taking a seat on the couch. Before Ciaran could say anything, he continued, "Ciaran, your mother can't stand for you to be upset with her. She didn't mean it the way you took it."

"I know she didn't." Ciaran sighed. "But I love Wendi and I don't know what I'd do without her."

"And I feel the same way about your mother. But what about her, Ciaran? Do you want her to be happy with you. Or do you want her disheartened the rest of her life?"

Ciaran was silent for a minute or two, then he said, "Daddy, I want her to be happy with me. But I want to be happy with Wendi."

"That's what she wants, too. But she just wants you two to not rush everything. We had to rush everything and she doesn't want you to have to do what we had to do."

"What do you mean you had to rush everything?" Ciaran asked curiously.

Remus chuckled weakly and said, "Ciaran, listen, after your mother had you, we had to deal with several large stacks of paperwork because you were born to a werewolf. And Voldemort was gaining power, so, we had a rushed wedding. And right after that, I had to leave your mother again."

"Why did you leave her."

Remus frowned and sighed. "I had a job to spy on the werewolves for the Order of the Phoenix."

Ciaran started to grin and said, "So that's why Mum doesn't like mentions of spying and groups of werewolves, hmm?"

"Exactly." Remus said with a grin of his own. "Now do you know why she doesn't want you to rush this?"

Ciaran frowned slightly and said, "I suppose I do. But, it's kind of like she says, things are different now. I mean, I'm not likely to be murdered by a gang of Death Eaters since the few living ones are in Azkaban. Nor will I have to leave to spy on anyone."

"I know that, Ciaran. But she's just concerned about your future, and Wendi's too."

Ciaran bit his lip in a sign of nervousness and confusion.

"Do you want to go talk to her?" Remus asked gently.

"I suppose we can." Ciaran sighed. "I'd rather walk, if that's fine with you."

"Certainly."

During their long walk, Ciaran kept his hands in pockets and silent. He was trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say to his mother when they got there.

"Ciaran." Remus said finally. "I know what you're thinking. Let me tell you a little bit advice before you talk to your mother. She knows how to get what she wants. She's really crafty."

"That how she finally got you to sleep with her?" Ciaran asked, snickering.

"Sure did." Remus said with a light blush. "She pretended to cry." he added at the look on Ciaran's face. "I tried to comfort her. It went from there."

"Wow, she is crafty." Ciaran muttered, a bit of awe in his voice. "Well," he sighed, heading up the steps. "Here's goes nothing."


	5. Chapter 5

All Grown Up

She's sneaky. And he had no chance whatsoever.

Chapter 5

"Hey, we were just talking about you two." Wendi smiled and Ciaran and Remus timidly glanced at the two of them.

"Nothing bad I hope." Ciaran smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, it was awful things." Gen giggled.

"Actually, we were talking about how bad you've been." Wendi said, grinning at her. Gen whistled innocently and tried to look sweet.

"We were probably talking about the same thing, then." Remus smiled. "Ah, Ciaran, didn't you want to talk to your mother?"

"Ah, sure did." he muttered.

"Well, Ciaran, I wanted to talk to you, too." Gen sighed, grabbing his hand and leading him into the kitchen.

"You first." he frowned, leaning against the counter, unsure if he wanted to hear this.

Gen heaved another sigh and began, "Ciaran, if you really love Wendi and you really want to go through this, I suppose I have no say. And I'll just have to deal with it."

"But I thought you liked Wendi."

"I do! Of course I do. But you're my baby and I don't want you to make a stupid mistake."

"It's not a stupid mistake, Mum!"

"You don't know, Ciaran! It could be."

Ciaran frowned and said, "Mum, you worry too much. I know you had a tough time after you and Dad got married. He told me. But things are much easier now."

Gen still did not look swayed. "I can't stop you." she said finally. "But do me a favor. Just a small favor?"

"What?"

"Reconsider having kids."

It was Ciaran's turn to sigh. "Mum, don't. YOU didn't reconsider. You didn't even think about kids, did you?"

"No, I didn't. Are you happy now?"

"Yes. Mainly because you agreed you couldn't stop the wedding."

Gen looked very close to tears at that point and hung her head in defeat. "Fine. As long as you're happy."

Ciaran hugged his mother gently and murmured, "It's not the end of the world, Mum. Calm down, OK? I thought you were tougher than this."

Gen sniffled and shook her head. "Not when it comes to you, I'm not."

"Aw, Mum. Dad'll freak if he's seen you've been crying."

Gen smiled weakly and said, "Yeah, he will."

"Look, I've been thinking about what you've said. And I know I am a bit young for marriage, but I'm pretty sure this is the right thing. And I know you're worried about me and you shouldn't. I'm perfectly capable of handling this. Honest."

"You might think you are, but wait until you two have a huge fight. Or wait until... no, don't wait until that."

"What?"

"Kids." Gen sighed. "Granted, you were a sweet baby, loved everyone, kids can cause a lot of arguing."

"You and Dad fought? I don't believe it."

"Believe it." she smiled. "We bickered for hours sometimes."

Ciaran shook his head, grinning. "You started most of them, didn't you?"

"I sure did."

Ciaran continued to grin as he added, "Mum, I promise I'll rethink having children, if that'll make you happy. OK?"

"OK." she said with her own little weak grin.

"And you don't worry about me."

"Fine, I won't." Gen said, pretty certain she was lying. "Now you go home. It's getting late."

"'Night, Mum."


	6. Chapter 6

All Grown Up

Aw, come on! We all know Gen doesn't budge that easily. Methinks something's up!

Chapter 6

"So, your mother finally gave in?" Wendi asked curiously, flopping on their bed and glancing at him. "You weren't too hard on her, were you?"

"No, of course not." Ciaran laughed, pausing as he changed into his pajamas. "Why would I?"

"Because you're mean!" Wendi laughed, throwing his pillow at him. "And you know you are, so don't try to lie to me."

"Oh, I'm the kindest person on earth, Wendi." Ciaran laughed, throwing his pillow back at her. She scoffed. "What? You don't believe me?"

"Of course I don't. Because I know you better than you think."

"You just think you do." he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling.

"I know I do." she said, giggling. She got up and hopped onto his lap and brushed a soft kiss against his lips. "You tell me everything, remember?"

"Damn. That's right, I do."

She giggled again and said, "What would I do without you, Ciaran?"

He shrugged and said, "I don't know. What would I do without me?"

She smiled and hopped off his lap and snuggled under the blankets. "You're too much, honestly. How am I supposed to handle you?"

He shrugged and curled up under the blankets next to her. He threw one arm over her and said, "I don't know. I suppose you'll find some way."

"Or I'll give you back to your mum."

"Or that." he laughed, kissing her on the cheek. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

She sighed and said, "I don't know." she murmured, ending with a yawn. "And no," she added, pushing him away as he went to kiss her again, "I don't want to, Ciaran."

"I didn't say you had to." he murmured. "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone, all right?"

"No! Just, don't rush that, OK?"

"Fine, Wendi." he said with his own yawn. "I won't."

"Thank you." she said with a soft grin. She rolled her eyes as he feigned snoring. Giving him a hard nudge in the ribs, she said, "Stop faking. You can't have gone to sleep that fast."

"And I don't snore." he added, which caused her to laugh.

"That too."

"Hey, Wendi?" Ciaran began after a moment or two of silence.

"Hey, Ciaran." she said, suppressing her laughter.

"Not funny. If we ever do have kids, would you rather have a boy or a girl?"

"Hmm," Wendi sighed thoughtfully. "I'd love a sweet little boy, just like his father. And maybe a daughter, later on."

"Oh? I'd rather have a daughter myself. They're sweeter than boys. And I could spoil her."

Wendi pretended to be hurt as she asked, "Oh, and you won't spoil me?"

"You're already spoiled." he answered.


	7. Chapter 7

All Grown Up

It's pronounced KEER-ahn, and, as many times as I've written it, I still don't say it right.

Oooh, I can't wait until they find out Wendi's pregnant. It's going to be awesome, in a classic Gen kind of way.

AND! I've got a Gen/James not romance idea. But I figure ya'll won't like it. But I'll probably wind up doing it anyway. Later, though. It'll be a one-shot, too.

Chapter 7

Wendi and Gen were settled comfortably at a small table outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, thumbing through wedding catalogs in search of a dress for Wendi. Gen was being downright quiet as she sipped on her milkshake and Wendi kept glancing at her in a cornered kind of way.

"OK," she sighed finally, shoving the catalogs away from her. "You're unhappy about something. What is it?"

"I'm not unhappy." Gen argued. "I'm just tired and irritable."

Wendi looked as though she didn't believe her. 'Tired, maybe.' she thought. 'But irritable? No.'

Gen frowned to herself and said, "Wendi, I'm not unhappy. I'm really glad Ciaran knows where he wants to go with his life. And, it's like Remus said, I can't baby him forever."

Wendi gave Gen a slightly tearful smile and said, "Well, I'm glad you're finally agreeing to this."

"I've got no say, so really, why should it matter that I agree?"

"You've got plenty of say!" Wendi argued. "You are his mother, after all. And, and your opinion really matters to him."

"He hasn't acted like that." Gen spat. Then, she gave Wendi an apologetic smile and said, "Wendi, I'm sorry. I really am. I've been stressed lately and I know it's not a very good reason to be snippy at the both of you."

"No, it's a fine reason!" Wendi told her. "I mean it. Ciaran acts so much like you, that I'm used to it. Honest."

Gen smiled softly and got up, grabbing a stack of catalogs and said, "Wendi, I need to pick some up. I'll meet you at The Leaky Cauldron. Or if you're ready to go home, you can go on. I don't mind."

"I'll wait." Wendi smiled, picking up the other stack, tucking it under her arm and heading to The Leaky Cauldron.

Gen headed towards the robe shop, trying to fight the tears that stung her eyes. As she reached the robe shop, she drew a set of dress robes from her shoulder bag and headed inside.

"Busy day?" she joked as Madam Malkin took the robes from her.

"Like none other." she said with a smile. "Just rush, rush, rush. Fancy event coming up?"

"Ah, my son's wedding."

"Oh, really? Isn't he dating that Muggle girl?"

"Yeah. Yeah, and he wants her to have a Muggle wedding, so she'll feel comfortable, but she says if we feel better wearing dress robes we can. And I haven't worn an actual dress in ages, so..." Gen broken off with a sheepish giggle.

"You don't seen too happy about this." Madam Malkin murmured, finishing with a flourish and handing Gen her robes.

"Tell you the truth, I'm not. But I'm just going to have to deal with it." she sighed and handed Madam Malkin a few Sickles. "I'll see you around."

"And you. And don't be so hard on your son! He's happy, isn't he?"


	8. Chapter 8

All Grown Up

No, she isn't pregnant, that they know of.

Chapter 8

"Gen, I still say you need to cut Ciaran some slack." Remus said with a yawn as he flopped on their bed. "He's old enough -- "

"I know, I know. To make his own choices." she sighed. "But I really don't trust his judgment on this."

"Why not?" Remus demanded. He waited for her answer, but when she did not answer him, he continued, "Gen, just stop being stubborn."

"I am not! Ciaran has made many mistakes before -- "

"And you always got him out of them." Remus gave her a small smile and said, "Look, I'm pretty sure all mothers get like this. Just don't do anything rational, OK? For me?"

"All right. For you." she sighed, curling up under the blankets and finally falling into a fitful sleep.

Remus woke her up a little later than he normally would have. "Gen, Ciaran's going to get mad if we're late today. You promised we'd meet them at The Leaky Cauldron. Now, come on. Get up!"

"I don't want to." she murmured, curling up into a tiny ball.

Remus sighed and snatched the blankets off the bed. "Gen, you promised."

She finally got up, muttering a quick, "You are so heartless, you know that, right?" as she passed him.

"And that's why you love me." he grinned, brushing a light kiss against her cheek.

A couple hours later, Remus was giving Gen's hand a reassuring squeeze under the table as they waited for Ciaran and Wendi to show up. Silently, he was hoping she wasn't going to say anything to further piss Ciaran off.

Ciaran finally joined them a few minutes later. "Sorry. Wendi's not feeling too good right now. But she told me to come anyway."

Remus smiled softly and said, "Well, if you want to get back to her, we'll understand."

"She'll be fine." Ciaran said, sitting down. "I haven't spent much time with you two as of late, so I'm kind of glad we get this chance to talk alone."

Gen managed a small smile. "Ciaran, are you sure -- "

"Positive." he nodded. "Wendi understands."

Gen, however, looked slightly downhearted. Ciaran looked from his mother to his father, slightly confused. "Gen?" Remus began softly. "You all right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Your mum hasn't been feeling the best in the world, either." Remus said, glancing at Ciaran. "And she didn't get much sleep last night -- "

"Oh, Mum, if you need to go home, it's fine." Ciaran said, looking concerned now. "I don't mind."

Gen smiled appreciatively at him and said, "Thanks, Ciaran." She brushed a light kiss on the top of his head and the three of them left the pub together, with Ciaran heading home after a quick good-bye.

"Oh, Remus." Gen said with a weak sigh. "I really hope this isn't what I think this is."


	9. Chapter 9

All Grown Up

Oh, it's an inside joke with a neighbor. Yeah. And, we'll see.

Chapter 9

"Your mother's going to hate me, I know she's going to hate me." Wendi whimpered, sticking close behind Ciaran as they headed up the steps leading to his parents' house. "She's going to kill me."

"She won't. I won't let her." Ciaran smiled. "Besides, why on earth do you think she's going to kill you?"

"All that talk she's done about wanting us to not have kids!" Wendi breathed.

"I seriously doubt she meant that. Besides, who knows if she's even up at this hour?" Ciaran said with a smile as he gently rapped on the front door. "Morning, Dad." he muttered as Remus answered the front door with a yawn. "Mum around?"

"In the shower. Why?"

"We need to tell you something. And I'd rather you both be around to hear it."

About that time, Gen padded out of the bathroom wrapped in her bathrobe and toweling her hair dry. "And what would that be?" she asked, her tone casual.

Ciaran smiled in a sort of pained way, grabbed her elbow and steered her towards the couch. "Ah, Mum," he began, not sure of how to say it, "please don't get mad. Promise me you won't get mad."

"What did you do?" Gen demanded, staring at him.

"Well, um, Wendi had a hand in it, too."

It hit Remus and Gen about the same time. Remus smiled softly at Ciaran and murmured his congrats. Gen, however, buried her face in her hands and, as she spoke, sounded as though she were on the verge of tears. "After I asked you, pleaded with you, not to?"

Ciaran looked slightly bewildered at this reaction. Yet, slightly pleased that she wasn't throwing anything. "Aw, come off it, Mum. It's not so bad."

To Gen, it seemed as though it were "that bad". Remus sat down on her other side and tried to comfort her, to no avail. Wendi frowned at this and sat on Ciaran's other side. "Don't get mad at Ciaran." she said softly. "If you're going to get mad at someone, get mad at me. It's not his fault."

"I'm not mad." Gen argued. "I'm just... severely disappointed."

Ciaran glanced at Wendi, who looked very upset at all this, and murmured, "Mum, you're... you're still going to come to the wedding tomorrow, aren't you?"

Gen shook her head slowly, sniffling. "No, I don't think I will." she said, getting up and heading to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I – I'm really sorry about that, Ciaran." Remus muttered, glancing after her. "Do you want me to -- "

"No. If she doesn't want to come, we can just postpone it." Ciaran said, getting to his feet and thrusting his hands in his pockets. "I want her to be there." he added at the look on Remus's face.

Remus waited until after Ciaran and Wendi had left to try to talk to Gen. "Gwendolyn?" he asked, quietly rapping on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." she sniffled. She was sitting on their bed, having changed into robes of a deep purple, absently twisting a handkerchief between her fingers.

"So," Remus said, sitting next to her and taking the handkerchief from her before she shredded it. "Usually grandmothers-to-be are more excited than this."

"How am I supposed to be excited?" she whispered.

"Well, you're going to be a grandmother, aren't you?"

"That's nothing to be excited about."

"Of course it is." he argued. Then he started to chuckle. "Now you know how my mother felt."

"What do you mean?" she asked, despite herself.

"My mother wasn't too happy when I first told her you were pregnant." Remus said with a slight shrug. "But, in time, she got used to the thought of having a grandchild."

Gen sighed and said, "And you want me to get used to this?"

"Well, I would hope you would. If not for me, than for your son."

Gen brushed a few tears from her eyes and murmured, "But how can I? I asked him not to." She glanced at him and added, "Don't say it. I know. I'm being difficult. So what?"

"So, it's making your son unhappy. He wanted you to be there to support him tomorrow. He even wants to postpone the wedding, just so you'll be there."

"Fat chance. I'm not going, no matter when it is."


	10. Chapter 10

All Grown Up

Ciaran says you're mean, Pinky. XD

Come on! Why we gotta all hate Gen? Isn't there at least one person, besides me, who still loves her?

Chapter 10

"Remus, you didn't throw out my Firewhiskey, did you?" Gen called, rummaging through the cabinets.

"I did." he called back, trying to suppress his grin. "You drink too much, Gwendolyn."

"Dammit, Remus!"

"And you say 'dammit' too much, too." Gen merely sighed and grabbed her cloak. "Where you off to?" he asked, glancing up from the paper.

"Where do you think?" she asked sourly.

He got up and grabbed her arm. "Gen, you really should be talking to your son and getting it over with instead of making them both suffer."

Gen wretched her arm away from him and said, "Remus, I tried talking to him. He just doesn't -- "

"He does listen, Gwendolyn. I don't see why this is bothering you so much!"

"Of course you wouldn't!" she said, sounding close to tears once more. "You weren't there, now were you?"

"No, I wasn't." Remus said, not wanting to bring this back up. "But Gwendolyn, you really did not have to be so harsh to Ciaran like that."

"I wasn't harsh!" she spat. "If I were harsh, I would denounce him as my son. All I am is disappointed, all right? Now, can you just leave me to my drinking?"

"No, you're going to talk to your son if I have to make you."

Gen folded her arms over her chest and said, "Remus John Lupin, you aren't going to make me a do a thing. Because it's not like you."

Remus, however, grabbed her arm again and led her to the couch. "Gwendolyn, you were always telling me I needed to talk to Ciaran. Well, right now, you need to. Do you honestly realize how much your son takes after you?"

Gen, her lower lip sticking out in a pout, said, "Yes, I know he takes after me. I've been told that several times."

"You do know he's started to drink, don't you?"

She shook her head. "But that goes as another way he doesn't listen. I've told him several times -- "

"Why do I even bother?" Remus said with a tiny sigh. "You're the one who doesn't listen." With that, he Disapparated.

Gen sat on the couch, frowning and pouting. She had taken in every word Remus said. How dare he say she does not listen? And Ciaran. Sure, she had been a bad influence with her drinking, but she had thought, and hoped, he was smarter than that.

She was broken from her thoughts by a knock at the door. Expecting the worst, she took her time getting to the door. "Hi, Wendi." she sighed, standing aside so that Wendi could go inside. Wendi, however, stayed on the porch.

"Ca – can I talk to you for a moment or two, please?" Wendi asked, wringing her hands together in a nervous kind of way.

"I suppose." Gen sighed. "Unless it's about my son. I've had enough of that all ready."

"But you really need to talk to him. At least tell him your reasoning behind not wanting a grandchild."

Gen scoffed and muttered, "Well, he knows. I've told him several times before about that. And I would think that he would have the sense to think things through instead of rushing into them."

"He has!" Wendi argued. "And, as his mother, you really shouldn't care if he thinks things through. Instead, you should respect his choices!"

Gen scowled and countered with, "And you, as his girlfriend, should respect my decisions as his mother. But, no, you'd much rather go against me. You know what? Have your baby. And have a nice life." She strode back inside and slammed the door behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

All Grown Up

And you guys say I'm harsh. (sigh)

I wrote this chapter whilst listening to 'Heaven Is' so... yeah... might not be our normal Gen/Remus.

Chapter 11

"I cannot believe you would be so harsh, Gwendolyn."

"I cannot believe you, Remus." she countered, stretching out on the bed and glaring at him.

"What have I done that could possibly be worse than what you've done?"

Gen sighed and sat up. "You know what, let's not argue."

Remus frowned and said, "I'd rather get this over with, Gwendolyn."

"Well, I don't see any point in arguing, Reme."

Remus's frown deepened as he said, "Don't call me 'Reme', please."

Gen was enjoying herself, much to his fury. "Don't call me 'Gwendolyn'."

"Well, it's your name, isn't it?"

She started to giggle. "Well, so what? Everyone else calls me 'Gen'. Even Dumbledore, on occasion." Still giggling, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly.

He pushed her away and said, "Don't think being cute is going to get you out of this."

"I'm not being cute." she said with a tiny pout.

"Well," Remus began, getting up and stretching, "I'm too mad at you to sleep with you tonight. So, get over it."

"That's harsh!" Gen said, now pouting very much.

"No, harsh is what you did to Ciaran and Wendi." With that, he headed out of the room, leaving her to sulk on their bed.

After a few minutes of pouting, she was sure he was not going to come back into the bedroom. So, with a sigh, she got up and headed into the living room. "Remus!" she called sweetly. "Now where have you gotten off to?"

A tiny search of the room wielded a note. Sighing heavily, she refused to read it, fairly certain of what it said.

"So, Gen, you're all alone tonight. Fan-damn-tastic."

Remus, meanwhile, had Disapparated to Ciaran and Wendi's. "You and Mum have a row?" Ciaran asked, heading out onto the porch with his father. "Wendi's asleep." he added. "Don't want to wake her up."

"Yeah, we did." Remus muttered, his hands in his pockets.

"And...?" Ciaran asked hesitantly. "Or do I really want to know?"

"In all honesty, it wasn't as bad as we've argued before. But I still cannot believe she would say such things to Wendi."

"I can." Ciaran spat, looking away from his father, his arms folded over his chest. "Come on, this is Mum we're talking about."

"You're right." Remus sighed, sitting on the steps. "I still love her, but..."

"Don't." Ciaran muttered, sitting next to him. "Do you realize how badly that would hurt her?"

"Yeah, I know." Remus muttered. "I know, Ciaran. Not to mention you."

"Me?" Ciaran scoffed. "Right now, I don't give a damn about her."

"That's a lie and you know it, Ciaran." Remus said with a tiny smile. "You adore your mother."

Ciaran was quiet for a little while, then, in a whisper, he said, "I do. I love my mother. But I hate the way she acts."

"She can't help that. And you know she can't."

"I know she can't." Ciaran muttered. "But she could try."


	12. Chapter 12

All Grown Up

Gen loves calling him Reme, doesn't she? She's got a petname for Ciaran, though, I don't think I've used it before.

And Gen's going to come around, later rather than sooner.

Chapter 12

Gen jumped, startled, as the front door slowly swung open. It was nearly one in the morning, and Remus had finally decided to come home. "I figured you'd be in bed by now." he muttered, not looking at her.

"I was waiting for you." she whispered. "I... wanted to apologize."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"I am not apologizing to my son!" she shouted, her cheeks pink with anger. "Why on earth do I need to apologize, anyway?"

"Because they're both distraught." Remus answered. "Neither of them were expecting you to act like this. And I wasn't, either. And if anything happens to that baby, it'll be your fault."

She watched his cloak flutter around the floor and he headed down the hall, intent on having their argument end there. But, no way she was going to let that happen. "Oh, you're concerned about his baby? Where the hell do you get off?" He paused outside their bedroom door and looked at her, both heartbroken and angry that she chose to go there.

"Gen, let's... let's just drop it."

"NO, I'M NOT!" she shrieked. "I have wanted to yell at you about this for years! And I'm not holding back anymore!"

Remus looked at her, fully bewildered. "It's a bit late to be arguing. Let's just get to bed."

She was glowering at him and said, "No, let's stand here and listen to me. You act so concerned for your grandchild, but when the hell were you ever concerned over Ciaran? You weren't even there for me. And you act all high and mighty now? That's bullshit, Remus."

"Gen," he sighed heavily, "Gen, I couldn't help that."

"Yes, you could!" she said, on the verge of tears. "You didn't have to. But you did anyway!"

"And how many times have I apologized for that?" he asked her. "Is this what you're so worked up about?"

She shook her head. "Oh, no, just... your little comment fueled my fire. And not in the sexual way!"

Remus began to shake his head slowly. "You're in a sexual mood tonight, aren't you?"

"Not anymore!" she said, her eyes shining with tears.

"Well, that's good." he muttered, heading back towards their bedroom. She returned to her chair, curled up, and began to cry. Remus padded softly down the hall to tell her good night. "Oh, Gen." he sighed, sitting next to her.

"Why don't you just go to bed?" she asked with a tiny sigh.

"Why don't you come with me?"

She shook her head, sniffling. "No, I know when you don't want me around."

"I didn't mean it that way." he whispered. "Come on, let's get to bed. It's late. Or early, depending on which way you look at it."

She managed a small smile and said, "OK, I'm right behind you."


	13. Chapter 13

All Grown Up

Chapter 13

Gen awoke bright and early the next morning and figured she needed to get out of the house for a little while, at least. "Remus?" she whispered, running a comb through her hair. "Remus, I'm going to Diagon Alley for a little while, OK?"

He muttered something to himself and snuggled further under the blankets. She smiled and brushed a light kiss against his cheek, grabbed her cloak, and Disapparated.

And the first thing she saw was a very familiar person. "Mum?" Ciaran asked, pushing his way through the early-morning crowd to her. "Wha – what are you up to? I figured you'd still be in bed, or something."

"I, ah, needed to get out." she said with a small smile. "I figured you'd be at home with Wendi."

Ciaran chuckled weakly and said, "Actually, I was kind of... hoping I'd run into you."

"You want to fuss at me like your father did last night, don't you?"

"No." Ciaran said, shaking his head. "Mum, I wanted to apologize. I really haven't been making things easy for you as of late, and -- "

"Oh, Ci-Ci!" Gen sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I've been making things worse for you."

"Mum," Ciaran chuckled weakly, "you haven't called me that in years."

"I know." she said with a tiny smile, brushing a couple of tears from her eyes. "I just can't grasp the fact that you've grown up."

"It's not like you're losing me forever." he pointed out with a tiny grin. "Besides, with Wendi pregnant, you get another chance to spoil someone."

"But I don't think I can warm up to that fact." Gen sighed sadly. "I mean, many people would consider it a great thing, but -- "

"Why are you so upset about this?" Ciaran asked, leading her to a nearby bench. "Is it Wendi's well-being? Mine? The baby's?"

Gen shook her head and replied with, "I don't know. It's just, I had no one with me. Well, except Sirius and Marci, but that's not what I mean. And, you wouldn't believe the things people will say behind your back, and to your face, seeing as how you're a werewolf and Wendi's a Muggle. It's just as bad as your dad and me, if not worse."

"But Dad said that -- "

"Your dad wasn't there. He doesn't know." Gen said, cutting him off. She brushed her bangs out of her face and, with a frown, said, "Ciaran, don't even consider adoption. All the risks, all the paperwork..." She sighed again and glanced at her watch. "I need to get home. Your dad is going to wonder where I've gotten off to."

"Dad doesn't know where you are?" Ciaran asked curiously. It was not like her to not tell him where she was going.

She smiled more lightly and said, "No, I told him, but he was asleep. So, I don't think he does know where I am, even though I did tell him."

Ciaran smiled and quickly hugged his mother before she Disapparated back home. And, as she had said, Remus had no idea where she had been.

"I've been talking to your son." she shrugged.

"Well, good." Remus smiled. "So, are we all getting along again?"

"Yes, and no." Gen said, biting her lip.


	14. Chapter 14

All Grown Up

Chapter 14

"Well, what do you mean by 'yes, and no'?" Remus asked, grabbing her hand and leading her to the couch.

"I just... don't think I can handle this baby business." Gen sighed, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I don't want to seem hateful, or rude, or whatever it sounds like, but I just -- everything's going much to fast for me."

"You're not being mean and hateful, Gen." Remus murmured, squeezing her hand in a reassuring way. "But do you want to tell me why this is bothering you so much? I know that's not the only reason."

"I don't know." she whispered. "I don't know why I'm letting this bother me."

Remus glanced at her, silent. She had caused a hell of a lot of strife and had no idea why? That didn't sound very Gen to him. "Gen, I think you need to go talk to Wendi and Ciaran and try to set this right."

"I don't know if I can, Remus." she whimpered, her fingers entwined in her hair.

Sighing, Remus helped to untangle her fingers from her hair. "Why not, Gen?"

"When have I ever apologized, Remus?" she asked with a tiny sigh.

"But this is your son."

"I know!" she sniffled. "That's what makes it so much worse."

"Come on." Remus sighed, helping her to her feet. "We're going to go talk to them. And I'll be right there, don't worry."

"All right." Gen sighed, grabbing her cloak. "If you want me to."

Together, they Disapparated and quickly raced up the walk leading to Wendi's childhood home. "It's freezing out here." Remus shivered, forgetting his cloak at home. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry." Gen whispered, rapping on the front door. "Morning, Wendi." she murmured as Wendi looked curiously from Gen to Remus.

"Look, if you've come to start something -- "

Remus cut her off with a small chuckle. "Wendi, Gen wants to apologize." Gen nodded in agreement and Wendi looked even more confused.

"But I thought Ciaran might've told you... nevermind." she sighed, standing aside so they could get inside out of the cold.

"Told us what?" Gen asked, her eyes narrowing into blue slits.

"Nothing." Wendi said again, looking very nervous.

"Told us what, Wendi?" Remus asked kindly.

Wendi sighed heavily and said, "It's twins, all right? I'm having twins."


	15. Chapter 15

All Grown Up

Chapter 15

"Are -- are you sure, Wendi?" Remus asked as Gen grabbed his arm, feeling faint.

Wendi nodded. "Positive."

Gen sighed weakly and sank down on the couch. Ciaran decided that it was time to pop up unexpectedly. Looking from his mother to Wendi, he grabbed his father's arm and muttered, "Can I have a word with you?"

Gen, instead of allowing Wendi to say anything else, headed outside. "Remus, can we go home now?" she asked.

Before Remus could answer, Ciaran popped up with, "Mom, I want to apolo -- "

"Don't." she muttered. "Remus? Coming?"

"Uh... I'll be there in a minute, Gen." he answered.

"OK." she murmured before Disapparating home.

"What am I going to do with her?" Remus asked with a slight frown.

"Dad, she's just -- "

"Looking out for your well-being." Remus finished. "I know. And she loves you, she really does, but lately, she's been driving me nuts."

"Why?" Ciaran asked.

"Because she's upset by all this. And I've got to deal with her." Remus muttered. "And speaking of dealing with her, I guess I need to get home." he muttered.

"Good luck." Ciaran said with a weak grin.

, Gen." he answered.

"OK." she murmured before Disapparating home.

"What am I going to do with her?" Remus asked with a slight frown.

"Dad, she's just -- "

"Looking out for your well-being." Remus finished. "I know. And she loves you, she really does, but lately, she's been driving me nuts."

"Why?" Ciaran asked.

"Because she's upset by all this. And I've got to deal with her." Remus muttered. "And speaking of dealing with her, I guess I need to get home." he muttered.

"Good luck." Ciaran said with a weak grin.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Remus timidly peeked in the living room, half-expecting the room to be completely destroyed. Instead, Gen was curled up on the couch, sniffling and making friends with a box of tissues. "Gen? Are you OK?"

"Fine," she sobbed. "Just fine."

"Gen, why is this bothering you so much? You know you can tell me anything. I won't care."

"Because," she answered with a weak laugh, "I feel like the worst mother in the world now."

"Now, what makes you think that?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"It's true, isn't it?"

"No, of course not!"

She scoffed and said, "I can't even be happy for my son."

Remus sighed and said, "Gen, to be honest, I'm not happy with this, either. But I'm dealing with it."

"That's just it!" she said, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "I can't deal with this, Remus."

"Yes, you can." he said with a tiny smile. "Come on, you dealt with it before. You can handle it."

She shook her head and muttered, "That's what you think."


	16. Chapter 16

All Grown Up

Chapter 16

A light snow had started to fall around the time Gen decided she was ready for bed. She snuggled under the blankets, wishing Remus would come to bed so she could snuggle up against him, too.

A little while later, he crept in the bedroom and asked in a soft whisper, "Gen? You still awake?"

"Mm-hmm. And freezing." she murmured.

"Well, come here." he sighed, curling up under the blankets next to her. "And, now that you can't run off, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"You always want to, don't you?" she asked with a yawn. "So, go on. Tell me I'm a horrid mother and you hate me and whatnot."

"It's not that." he said with a yawn of his own. "I just don't want to see you hurt by Ciaran or anything of this sort. But that's not what I've wanted to ask you."

"What, then?" she murmured, now half-asleep.

"Don't be so harsh on Wendi, please? She has no idea what she's done to upset you. And she wants you to be there for her since her mother's dead."

Gen muttered something he could not understand.

"Gen, are you even listening to me?"

"Mm-hmm." she muttered, more to herself than him.

"What did I say, then?"

"OK," she sighed, "I don't know. I'm far too tired, Remus."

He frowned but said nothing. Eventually, her breathing became softer and more even, so he gently got out of bed, hoping she'd remain asleep, and headed into the living room. He, too, was ready for bed, but was unable to get to sleep.

With a small sigh, he grabbed his cloak and Disapparated. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" he asked softly as Wendi answered his knock.

"I couldn't sleep." she answered. "Ciaran, however, is out."

"So's Gen." Remus smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." Wendi answered with a small sigh. "I'm just tired, a little bit stressed... and I think we need to call the wedding off."

"What? Why?"

"Because, Gen doesn't want us to get married." Wendi muttered, sitting on the couch. "And the planning is driving me crazy."

"Of course she wants you to get married!" Remus said, sitting next to her. "She just doesn't want you two to rush. And, she wants to be there for you both, but she's been on edge lately."

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Ciaran told me that, at first, you didn't want to be with his mother. Why?"

"To tell you the truth, Wendi, I was worried about her. I didn't want anything to happen to her. And I nearly bit her several times." Ignoring Wendi's small gasp, he continued, "Honestly, I did love her, and I still do, but lately, I have no clue what's gotten into her."

"Me." Wendi answered simply. "I never thought she liked me."

"She does!"

Wendi shook her head. "I appreciate it, but she doesn't. She cannot stand me. I'm taking her baby away from her and she hates me for it."

Remus hated to admit it, but it seemed she had a point.


	17. Chapter 17

All Grown Up

Chapter 17

Remus headed home soon after his little chat with Wendi, wondering if she was right. Sure, it was a good point, a great point, in fact, but, surely, Gen wouldn't be acting out just because Wendi was "taking" Ciaran from her? "Gwendolyn," he called softly, creeping into their bedroom.

Gen sighed happily and snuggled further under the blankets. Remus sighed softly, not wanting to wake her up. So, he quckly changed into his pajamas and snuggled up next to her, asleep in an instant.

When he woke up the next morning, Gen was already up and dressed in the kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee. "Morning." she murmured.

"Morning," he muttered, still half-asleep, as he took the chair next to her.

"Rough night?" she asked softly, brushing her bangs out of her face and avoiding his gaze.

"You could say that." he shrugged. "I had a hard time getting to sleep."

"Hmm." Other than that, she was silent.

Across the table, Remus frowned softly, entwining his fingers with hers. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Nothing." she murmured. "Um, do you really feel like doing anything today? Because I wanted to head to Hogsmeade for a little while."

"No, I was going to spend some time my son, but that's it." Spying the look on her face, he added, "Unless you wanted me to go with you?"

She shook her head and said, "No, it's fine." Getting to her feet, she added, "I won't be too long."

'Now, what is her problem?' Remus thought to himself as the post owl delivered _The Daily Prophet_. Finding nothing on interest, he headed into the living room, pausing once to figure out if he should try to find Gen and talk to her. Until another owl, one that did not seem highly familiar, landed on the windowsill.

"Who are you here for?" Remus asked as the owl hopped inside, dropping the letter it was carrying at Remus's feet. "Oh, you want me?"

The owl hooted again and soared out the window, hitting its wing on the side of the window in its haste.

Remus read the letter once, his eyebrows meeting in confusion. Then, shaking his head to make sure what he read was right, he re-read it.

_Dad,_

_Wendi and I decided to elope. Hope that's not too disappointing. Don't tell Mum right away. Here's hoping she's not home right now._

_Ciaran_

"Oh, hell." Remus whispered. He grabbed his cloak and quickly Disapparated, hoping to either catch up with Gen so she could stop them. Or stop them himself.


	18. Chapter 18

All Grown Up

Chapter 18

"You're joking. You HAVE to be joking, Remus." Gen whispered. Remus had just been about to leave when she got back. And, now, tears were brimming in her pale blue eyes and Remus was fairly certain she had reached her breaking point.

Until she snatched her wand off the nearby table, set her jaw, and said, "I'll be back. Unless I get shipped off to Azkaban."

He grabbed her arm to stop her and hissed, "Gen, you're not going to -- "

"I'm going to knock some sense in my son's overly-stuffed head!" she shrieked.

"No, Gen!' he said, frantically clinging to her arm. "You have no idea where they are, anyway. And I'm not having you carted off to prison for -- for -- "

"It'll... be... worth it!" Gen panted, struggling against Remus's hold. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this!"

"But Gen, what about Wendi?"

"I'll set her straight, too, if I have to!"

"No you won't." Remus murmured, half-dragging her to the couch. "You're going to calm down, first of all."

Gen glared at him, but settled down on the couch, her arms across her chest. She had been upset, on the constant verge of tears, when she found out they were getting married, and when she found out Wendi was pregnant, but this? This wasn't like Ciaran. At all.

"I'm going to go look for them, all right?"

"No." she said.

"No?"

"Because I want to do it." she snapped, getting to her feet. "I haven't dealt with him as of late. And I need to."

"But -- !"

"Uh! I'm going." she said, sounding as though she did not want to hear anymore arguements on the matter. "You stay here, just in case they decide to show up." Bending down, she brushing a soft kiss against his lips and murmured, "I won't do anything drastic, I swear."

Remus looked as though he did not believe her, but he figured he had no say in the matter. And that it was best to leave her be.


	19. Chapter 19

All Grown Up

Chapter 19

A little while after Gen had left, Ciaran and Wendi showed up. "So, you went through with it?" Remus asked, looking from his son to Wendi, who lowered her head and nodded. "Ciaran, your mum is really not happy with you."

"I know!" Ciaran groaned. "I know, all right! She's never happy with me!"

"She's just looking out for you!" Remus argued.

"Her way of looking out for me is driving me mad!" Ciaran shouted.

Wendi sighed heavily and headed outside, leaving them to shout. She sighed weakly and sank down on the steps, wondering what kind of trouble she had caused. She recoiled as Gen headed up the walk, but Gen merely brushed past her and into the house.

Ciaran immediately hid behind his father and said, "Mum, I can explain, please, if you'll let me -- "

"I don't want to hear it!" she shouted, drawing her wand. "I just want to know how much pleasure it gives you to find new ways to disappoint me? Why, Ciaran? I ask you to reconsider this, to reconsider having kids, for you, for Wendi, for whatever the hell is left of my sanity, but you pull some stupid shit like this, as always!"

"I don't mean to disappoint you!" Ciaran choked. "I don't -- Mum, I'm an adult. You can't just expect me to -- "

"I expected you to act as though I raised you right." Gen spat. "I tried as best as I could, Ciaran. And your father hasn't helped anything!"

"Gen, don't." Remus muttered, looking away from her.

"Remus," she choked, "you've let him get away with this! He's been so pissed with you since he was so young, you just want to be back in his good graces."

Remus hung his head, guilty. It was true, of course. All that mattered to him was that Ciaran was speaking to him again. And that Ciaran was happy. "You're right. And I'm sorry, but he's my son, Gwendolyn."

"He's mine, too! And I'M the one who raised him. You just let him get away with anything, don't you? As long as he's not pissed with you, everything's fine, isn't it, Remus?"

"Yes, Gen." Remus muttered. "And I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize -- "

"Stop it." Ciaran whispered. "You two shouldn't be fighting. Look, Dad, Mum's right. I'm a disappointment."

"No, you're not." Remus sighed.

"Yes, I am, OK? I could have turned out better. And it's not Mum's fault. We all know who's fault this is." Ciaran looked from his mother to his father and sighed. "I need to get Wendi home. She's been sick lately and she's not been sleeping well."

"I'm not finished!" Gen shouted, rounding on him once more.

"Well, I am, all right? I'm tired of constantly disappointing you. I really don't mean to. And I really don't see how I do disappoint you, but I'm sorry. I'll -- I'll see you around. If you ever decide to call me your son again."


	20. Chapter 20

All Grown Up

Chapter 20

"So, she actually called you a disappointment? To your face?" Wendi asked, staring at Ciaran with disbelief. "That doesn't sound like your mother."

Ciaran sighed and rolled his eyes. "You sure don't know my mum, do you?" he asked.

"Ciaran, what exactly is her problem?" Wendi asked with a slight frown. She shifted her weight and tried to get comfortable as she asked, "She used to like me. But now? I don't think she can stand being in the same room with me for more than two seconds."

"Why don't you get to bed, Wendi?" Ciaran asked, ignoring her question.

"I am tired." Wendi sighed. "But, Ciaran, listen, I'm not sure I'm going to get any sleep anyway, so... why not try to work this out?"

"There's not much point in trying to work this out."

Wendi looked at him in disbelief. "You're not giving up, are you?"

"Why should I bother? I'm just a disappointment." Ciaran answered sourly.

"I can't believe you're just... giving up! What kind of example are you setting? There..." she sighed, looking for the right words. Ciaran watched her, curiously, and a little bit amused, as she flubbed and spluttering. Finally, though, she found what she was going to say. "Why do you think, suddenly, that your mum is right? Before, you didn't give a damn what she thought! In fact, YOU'RE the one who shouted at her first. And I think she's right. We shouldn't get married just yet, if at all. We're too young and you, well, frankly, I still don't understand you."

She managed to get to her feet and, staring him down, added, "And I think you leave. Try to figure yourself out. And give me time to think."

Ciaran blinked back tears as he slowly nodded. "All right. I'll go."

"Thank you."

'What is wrong with women?' Ciaran thought a few minutes later as he settled onto the barstool at The Hog's Head. 'Firstly, Mum goes nuts and now Wendi doesn't want to get married? What the hell have I done?'

His answer came in the form of his father, who literally dragged him out of the pub by his ear. "I will not have you end up like your mother." he said as Ciaran rubbed his ear, glaring at him. "I went by to check on you, and Wendi told me what happened." he added.

"And I bet you're happy, too, aren't you?"

"No." Remus answered. "In all actuality, I wanted to apologize. Your mother had no right to talk to you like that. And I had no right not to defend you." Much to his surprise, Ciaran burst into tears. "Why does this surprise me?" Remus asked, more to himself than to Ciaran as he patted his son reassuringly on the shoulder. "You're much more like your mother than anyone ever thought."

"What did I do wrong?" Ciaran sniffled. "I'm sorry." he added, avoiding his father's gaze. "But they both hate me."

"No, they don't." Remus smiled. "Wendi's just dealing with three different sets of emotions right now. And you know how your mum is."

"But they both -- "

"No, they don't." Remus answered before Ciaran could finish. "Listen, your mum feels terrible about what she said. So, why don't you come home with me and we'll talk to her, all right?"

"All right." Ciaran sighed, wiping his eyes on his sleeves.


	21. Chapter 21

All Grown Up

Chapter 21

A half hour after he arrived, Ciaran found himself stretched out on the couch, his head resting on his mother's lap as she exchanged a look that clearly said "I told you so" with his father.

Having already apologized several times within a span of about five minutes, Ciaran was just happy she hadn't kicked him out. But his mind was on Wendi, and his parents could tell.

"Ciaran," Gen sighed softly, brushing his bangs out of his face, "why don't you let her calm down then talk to her in the morning?" She looked at Remus, who sat next to her and nodded in agreement.

"Pregnant women are hard to deal with." he added, rolling his eyes at Gen. "Be glad you didn't have to deal with your mother."

"Oh, shut up." Gen laughed. "You weren't even there for the last few months, so what do you know?"

Ciaran groaned inwardly and muttered, "Mum, don't be so hard on him."

"He knows I love him." she smiled. "But what am I going to do with you?"

"Well, I kind of want to throw myself away, so don't say that." Ciaran muttered. "And don't 'poor baby' me. I deserve it."

"No, you don't." she frowned. "Remus, do something about your son. He's acting just like me!" Ciaran managed to crack a tiny smile, which caused Gen to start laughing again. "I made you smile. So you're not too down, now are you?"

"No, I guess not." he muttered.

She smiled and whispered, "That's my boy."

"Mum?" he asked, suddenly sitting up and staring at his parents. "Can I ask you both something?" Gen and Remus glanced at each other, then nodded. "Why am I an only child? I mean, it's been bugging me for ages. I'd've figured you, Mum, would want at least three kids, even if Dad didn't."

Gen chuckled nervously and said, "Wow, that was random."

Remus leaned over and whispered, "I had no say in it. I wanted you to have a sister, but your mother didn't."

Gen looked from Ciaran to Remus and said, "Oh, gee, blame me."

Ciaran shook his head, smiling. "Mum, I want a little sister. It's not too late, you know."

"Yes, it is." Gen said quickly, causing Remus to start laughing, too. "Don't get me wrong," she added, smiling herself, "I would have loved a daughter, but... I don't think I could handle it."

"I seem to remember you saying something completely different at the time." Remus smiled.

"Shut up!"

Ciaran smiled softly as his parents continued to bicker. He was glad they weren't cooing over him, and that was his plan. But they were right: maybe it was best to let Wendi calm down before talking to her. He just settled back and tried not to laugh at them.


	22. Chapter 22

All Grown Up

Chapter 22

"I forgot how odd Mum is." Ciaran laughed, stretched out on the couch as his father read _The Evening Prophet_ in the nearby recliner.

"That she is." Remus smiled from behind his paper. "But you love her anyway."

"Yeah, but... she's odd. And a drunk. Of course, I remember that part."

Remus frowned. Though he did not approve of Gen's drinking, he felt resigned that there was nothing he could do about it. "I don't want you winding up like that." he muttered, rustling his paper uneasily.

"Of course not." Ciaran sighed. "Trust me. I've seen how she is."

"You don't know the half of it." Remus muttered, more to himself than to his son.

"Oh, really? Want to tell me?" Ciaran asked, smirking.

"No."

:Aw, come on! At least tell me when she started drinking." Ciaran demanded. "She's in bed, she won't hear it!"

Remus sighed, folding his paper. "Ciaran, she started drinking right after we got out of Hogwarts. I don't know if it was stress, or me, or what, but if she wasn't home, she was at a pub."

"Wow." Ciaran laughed. "You're not joking, are you?"

"No, I'm not. She... she was quite good at holding her liquor, actually. She managed to stop while she was pregnant."

"And... she's making up for it, isn't she?" Ciaran asked.

Remus nodded sadly. "I swear, that woman drives me crazy sometimes."

Ciaran continued to laugh. "Oh, come on. You love her. And her drinking."

"No, I don't." Remus said, grabbing his paper and disappearing behind it once more.

Ciaran smirked, rolled his eyes, and said, "Oh, so, she's one of those drunks, isn't she?" When his father didn't answer, he sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I'd rather you not." Remus muttered.

Ciaran grinned. "All right, I'll stop! Sheesh."

"Why are you so curious about your mother and our relationship?"

Ciaran shrugged, muttering, "I guess because you weren't there when I was little and I wanted to know if you really care about Mum or not."

"Oh, of course I do." Remus replied. "Whatever gave you the idea I didn't?"

"I don't know."

"Listen, just because I wasn't there for your mother, doesn't mean I don't care about her. You're not there for Wendi right now, are you?"

"No." Ciaran sighed. "No, but she doesn't want me there."

"Of course she does. She might not have said it, but she does."

"What am I going to do?" Ciaran groaned, flopping back on the couch and looking at his father for an answer.

"I don't know." Remus sighed finally. "But you know your mother and I are always here if you need us."

"Yeah." Ciaran muttered. "I know you are. But I kind of want to resolve this myself. It's not really your problem. And I'm an adult. Like it or not, you and Mum can't fight all my battles for me. No matter how badly she wants to."

Remus chuckled weakly and said, "You're right about that. She – she really cares about you. She just has her own ways of showing it."

"Yeah, by drinking a bottle of vodka."

"Ciaran, she tries. You have to give her that."

"Yeah, I know." he muttered. "I just wish she wouldn't drink."

"Well," Remus grinned, "we'll get your problem with Wendi fixed, then we'll work on your mum's drinking."


	23. Chapter 23

All Grown Up

Chapter 23

Ciaran awoke rather late the next morning, heading into the living room with a yawn, his hair touseled. "Where's Mum?" he muttered.

"She went to go check on Wendi." Remus answered.

"She what?" Ciaran asked, looking his father in disbelief. "And you let her?"

"Nothing wrong with that, is there?" Remus asked, looking confused. "She's just worried about Wendi, Ciaran. She's not going to make anything worse. I promise."

Ciaran scoffed. "You actually believe that?"

"Of course."

"I don't."

Remus managed a weak smile and said, "I'll tell you what, we'll go over there and make sure your mother isn't causing any trouble. And if she isn't, then we'll leave them alone."

"And if she is?" Ciaran demanded.

Remus thought for a moment, then answered, "Well, then, I'll leave that to you."

Ciaran managed a weak smile of his own before heading to his room to change and do something about his messy hair. "You're actually going to leave Mum to me?" he asked, grabbing his jacket.

"Sure, as long as you don't kill her." Remus chuckled.

"Oh, I'm not that harsh." Ciaran grinned.

The two quickly Disapparated; Ciaran was feeling a little less anxious by the time he staggered to his feet. "God, I hate that." he muttered. "Don't laugh." he added, catching Remus trying to stifle his laughter.

"Sorry," Remus smiled.

"Not funny," Ciaran muttered, pouting.

Before he could unlock the door, Gen opened it, smiling softly. "I figured you'd show up once your father told you where I was." she murmured. "Ciaran you might want to take over here." she added, gesturing at Wendi, who was curled up on the couch, sniffling.

"Thanks." he muttered, brushing past his mother.

"Come on, Remus." Gen murmured.

"What -- ?" he began.

Gen grabbed his arm and muttered, "Now."

"Is she all right?" Remus asked as they settled back down in their living room. She sat curled up next to him, her head on his chest.

"She's so confused." Gen sighed. "She doesn't need to be getting upset. To tell you the truth, I don't even know if she's going to carry to term."

"Hmm." Remus muttered. "I take it you're finally accepting your grandmotherly duties?"

"I have no choice." Gen answered. She glanced at him and gigged. "Wendi told me she went behind Ciaran's back and found out there's a boy and girl. But not to tell him."

Remus started to laugh and said, "Well, I get a granddaughter, at least."

Gen stared at him and said, "Excuse me? WHO'S fault is it that you don't have a daughter?"

"Yours." Remus grinned. "I asked you, several times, after Ciaran was born for a daughter."

"And I said no. That makes it my fault?"

"Yes."


	24. Chapter 24

All Grown Up

Chapter 24

Note: I need ideas for ficlets of Ciaran as a baby. Share with me, people!

Gen and Wendi, who had clearly bonded since that morning, were seated in the living room of Gen and Remus's home, Wendi rubbing her stomach, wishing that the twins would settle down. "They won't stop moving!" she whined.

"Ciaran wouldn't either." Gen smiled.

"I don't like it." Wendi whimpered.

"I know." Gen said gently. "I know, Wendi. But it'll be over in a few weeks' time, I promise."

"I just hate the fact that I have to go to the wizarding hospital." Wendi said softly. "I mean, how many Muggles actually go there, anyway?"

"More than you think." Gen giggled. "Visiting magical relatives, cures for hexes, though, those have their memory modified."

"But how many in my situation?"

"It – it is an unusual situation," Gen began softly, "But I'm sure you're not the first." Wendi looked close to tears again. "Wendi," Gen began, sitting next to her and patting her shoulder reassuringly, "Wendi, sweetie, you really don't need to be getting upset. Especially now. Calm down." she murmured.

"But I'm scared!" Wendi whimpered.

"I know you are. I was, too." Gen whispered.

"But what if -- "

"No 'what ifs', OK?" Gen told her with a tiny smile. "Even if one of them, or both of them, turn out to be werewolves, we'll still love them. And we'll take care of them. Ciaran and Remus both were really young when they were bitten. They can definitely handle this, even if you think you can't."

"Thanks." Wendi murmured with a tiny smile of her own. "Will you be with me...?"

"Of course."

By that time, Ciaran and Remus decided to barge in unexpectedly. "Wendi, you ready to go home?" Ciaran asked gently.

"I want to stay with your mum." Wendi sniffled, clinging to Gen, who exchanged a quick look with Remus. "If that's all right with you."

"That's fine." Ciaran said, looking slightly taken aback. He glanced at his father, who nodded, understanding his son's unasked question.

"Ciaran," Gen began softly, "you want to sit with her for a second? I need to talk to your father, just for a moment."

Ciaran nodded and Gen got to her feet, leading Remus into their bedroom. "How's she doing?" he asked softly.

"She keeps this up and she's going to go into premature labor." Gen sighed, brushing her bangs out of her face. "But that's not what I'm worried about. She... has concerns that they're going to be werewolves. What... what do you, honestly, think the chances are?"

Remus sighed softly and said, "Gen, I really don't know. But I won't be surprised if we have a little werewolf in our midst."

Gen groaned and sank down on their bed. "That's what I was afraid of. What are we going to do if that -- "

"I don't know." Remus repeated. "We'll just have to hope that we don't have a cub to deal with."


	25. Chapter 25

All Grown Up

Chapter 25

Note: Yup, my Chrimbo present to you guys is the twins. (Giggle) I might not name them until next chapter, so name suggestions are open, of course. Though, this chapter is short. I promise the next one will definitely be longer.

Wendi had gone into labor earlier that evening, and now, at two-thirty in the morning, Remus was having a hard time keeping Ciaran calm. "But Daddy -- "

"Your mum's with her, she'll be fine!" Remus said, practically sitting on his son. "Would you calm down? You're getting me anxious!"

"Sorry," Ciaran muttered, looking as though he seriously doubted he could calm down. "I'm just worried about her -- "

" -- We all are -- "

" -- and if they're going to be... " he trailed off, looking at Remus helplessly.

"We'll think of something." Remus murmured gently. "Between the three of us, we'll definitely figure something out..

Ciaran looked unsure of this, but muttered something about getting something to drink. "Want anything?" he asked.

Remus shook his head. A few minutes after Ciaran left, Gen headed out into the hall, looking as tired as she herself had just given birth to twins. "So?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"Well, the boy's fine. He can go home with Wendi when she goes home." she sighed. "He's so cute, Remus. He's got that fine brown hair of yours and Ciaran's and Wendi's eyes."

"And the girl?" Remus asked timidly.

Gen's inward groan as she sank into the nearest chair was enough to answer his question. "She's going to have to stay for a little while." Gen murmured.

Remus heaved his own sigh. "Ciaran's going to have a fit." he muttered.

"You want to tell him?" Gen asked. "I don't think I could."

"Tell who what?" Ciaran asked, looking at her apprehensively. "Mum?"

"Ciaran," Gen began gently, getting up and giving Ciaran a comforting hug.

"Don't." he muttered, understanding. "This is all my fault." he muttered, sniffling.

"No, it's not." Gen said softly.

Remus, not wanting to intrude on this mother-son moment, told Gen he was going to check on Wendi.

"Mum," Ciaran muttered, "what am I going to do?"

"We'll think of something." she whispered.

"That's what Dad said."

"We will." Gen murmured. "I promise."


	26. Chapter 26

All Grown Up

Chapter 26

Note: Still taking name suggestions, especially for the boy's. For the girl, I'm leaning towards Elizabeth, unless someone suggests something better.

Gen and Remus felt it best to leave Ciaran, Wendi, and their son alone for a few days, but finally went to visit the week after Wendi was allowed home. "How you holding out?" Gen asked her son as she carefully picked up her grandson.

"I'm trying, Mum." he muttered, avoiding her gaze. "We haven't named them yet." he added softly.

"Well, you need to hurry up and name them." Remus said with a soft smile.

"I haven't even seen my daughter, how can I name her?" Ciaran asked helplessly.

Gen and Remus exchanged a look and Gen softly asked, "They won't even let you see her?"

When Ciaran shook his head, Gen placed the baby in Remus's arms and sat next to Ciaran, wraping her arms around him in a comforting way. "Poor baby." she murmured, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about me." Ciaran muttered, gently pushing her away. "Worry about Wendi."

"But Ciaran -- " Gen whispered. He cut her off, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, Mum. Go check on Wendi for me."

With a small sigh, Gen did as he asked.

"You shouldn't lie to your mother like that." Remus muttered, looking at his grandson, who seemed rather interested in him. "You know how she gets."

"That's exactly why I lied to her." Ciaran muttered, glancing at his father. "She frets and I don't like it when she frets over me. How could you tell I was lying to her?"

With a small chuckle, Remus said, "No one would be fine in this situation."

"You think she could tell?" Ciaran asked softly, not looking at his son.

"I think she could." Remus nodded. "But I think she knows you don't want her fretting, either."

Gen and Remus left soon after, with Gen muttering something about needing a drink, and needing it badly. "Gen, now's not the time to go get plastered." Remus said, sinking into his chair with a tired groan. "Please don't."

"But Remus," she murmured, "I neeeed a drink."

"No, you don't. You need to be there for Ciaran."

"I know," Gen whispered, tears springing to her eyes. "I know, but I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that."

"Yes, you do." Remus murmured softly. "I'll be right back, all right?"

"Where are you going?" Gen demanded.

"St. Mungo's. See if they'll let us see her, if only for a few minutes."


	27. Chapter 27

All Grown Up

Chapter 27

Note: I have decided to keep my unusual names going and the boy's name is Sage. Sage Lupin, I like the way it sounds. And it's a unisex name, so no fussing at me. The girl gets her grandmother's middle name. Awww.

The four timidly made their way down the hall of St. Mungo's, having left Sage with Marci. Ciaran's arms was comfortingly placed around Wendi's shoulder. Gen was timidly clinging to Remus's arm. They had been allowed to visit for a few minutes.

"She hasn't stopped fussing." the Healer explained, as she led them into the nursery. "She's not too happy with any of us."

"Sounds like she'll fit in fine." Ciaran muttered with a tiny smile. "How... how is she?"

"Other than a handful, everyone seems to think she's the cutest little thing ever."

Once they saw her, crying loudly as the Healers tried to give her a bottle, they had to agree. She had her mother's soft red hair and her grandmother's pale blue eyes. She stopped crying as Ciaran picked her up. She contemplated him for a second, then continued to bawl.

"Oh, Remus," Gen sighed. "Think we should leave them alone with her?"

But she heard Gen spoke and began looking around for her. She started to whimper.

"I think she wants you, Gen." Remus murmured.

"Oh, no, I couldn't, I -- " but Gen's stammerings were cut off by Ciaran, who placed her granddaughter in her arms. She surveyed Gen with interest for a moment, then started to coo happily.

"She likes you, Mum." Ciaran murmured.

"But she -- "

"What's your middle name?" Wendi asked, hit with an idea.

"Elizabeth." Gen answered weakly. "Don't name her after me..."

"Too late." Wendi said with a giggle. "I think Elizabeth suits her. What about you, Ciaran?"

"I think so, too."

Gen looked pleadingly at Remus, who smiled and said, "I don't think you're going to talk them out of it."

She let out a shaky sigh and murmured, "All right, are you happy? You get my name." She carefully handed Elizabeth to Wendi, who began to whimper again. "I don't want to hold you." Gen muttered.

"Why not?" Ciaran demanded. "She adores you."

"I think she's a little overwhelmed." Remus said gently, wrapping his arm around Gen's waist. "Aren't you?"

Gen nodded, resting her head against Remus's chest with a tiny sigh. "She's so cute." Gen murmured.

"Yeah, she is." Ciaran said happily. "I can't wait for her to get to be able to come home."


	28. Chapter 28

All Grown Up

Chapter 28

Note: I wasn't going to update anymore today, but I'm sad now! So I have to make myself feel better. And I changed my Yahoo name.

"Gen?" Remus asked softly, removing his cloak and tossing it over the back of the couch. "Are you all right?"

"Mm-hmm." Gen nodded, fiddling with her scarf. "I – I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Remus smiled. He brushed a quick kiss against her cheek and muttered, "You're a really bad liar, Gwendolyn. What's on your mind?"

Gen sighed and said, "She likes me and – and I -- "

"'She' wouldn't happen to be your granddaughter, Elizabeth, now would she?"

Gen nodded again. "She's guilt-tripping me, Remus!"

"What makes you say that?" Remus asked, trying not to grin.

With a groan, Gen sank down on the couch. "Remus, I didn't want grandchildren. And she loves me! Do I have to spell it out for you?"

Remus began to laugh and said, "Oh, Gen, you're just a lovable person."

Gen scoffed and asked, "Who lied to you?"

Remus frowned at her and said, "Well, if you're going to be that way, I'll just have to move out, now won't I?"

"Lupin..." Gen growled playfully.

"I'm teasing. Though your son isn't too happy you don't want anything to do with his daughter."

Gen heaved another sigh and murmured, "I didn't say that, per se. And if I did, I didn't mean it that way. I just – right now is a little too much for me. Him running off and getting married, being a father so young... having a werewolf for a daughter..." she trailed of with a frown.

Remus rolled his eyes and said, "OK, Gwendolyn, I hate to break it to you, but A: We ran off, too. B: You and I both were a year younger than he was when he was born. And C: He could have just as easily been born a werewolf."

"Things – were – different!" Gen growled, not at all playfully this time.

"I know, I know!" Remus said quickly, patting her gently on the arm. "But Gen, what I'm getting at is you have no right to be so mad at him. Or take it out on Wendi, or his children. Or me."

"But Remus..." Gen began, her eyes brimming with tears. "Remus, I had hoped he would turn out better than this. That – that, oh, I don't know, I actually did a good job in raising him."

"You did." Remus whispered. "He's just got his mother's wild streak, that's all."

Gen glared at him. "That doesn't help, Remus!"

"But it's true." Remus laughed.

"SO!"

Still laughing, Remus rolled his eyes once more and headed into the kitchen. "Let me guess," he called. "You could use a drink right about now, couldn't you?"

"Yes, I could." Gen giggled, headed into the kitchen and wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. "You know me so well."


	29. Chapter 29

All Grown Up

Chapter 29

Elizabeth was allowed to go home after spending her first full moon at the hospital. As long as there was no problems, all they would have to do would be to drop her by St. Mungo's before each full moon, at least until she was weaned from her bottle.

Wendi was trying to hold a fussy Elizabeth while Sage sat comfortably in his father's lap, cooing happily. "Where's your mother when I need her?" Wendi groaned.

Ciaran frowned, but said nothing right away. "Mum seemed rather shook up, didn't she? I wonder why?"

"Well, why don't ask her when you go get her and tell her her granddaughter is being a pain?" Wendi asked, a snap in her voice.

"Wendi, I don't think we need to bother her right now." Ciaran muttered as Sage began to yawn. "I'm going to go put him in his crib, then I'll take Lizzy from you."

Wendi glared after him. "Why don't you just take her to your mother? She'll be quiet in about two seconds."

"I TOLD you, I don't want to bother Mum right now."

"And why not?" Wendi demanded. "It would only take a few minutes of her time. Besides, she hasn't really gotten involved with either of them! And she's supposed to be their grandmother!"

With a tiny sigh and a look that told Wendi to lower her voice, Ciaran shut the nursery door with a small snap. "She's had a rough couple of weeks, Wendi. It's best if we leave her alone."

"Don't start with this bi-polar business!" Wendi said, ignoring the look Ciaran had given her. "Just because she can't get control of her emotions doesn't mean that she can't spend any time with her grandchildren. And she doesn't have to take it out on me! She hates me, Ciaran! Can't you see that?"

"She doesn't hate you." Ciaran said with a tiny smile, placing his arm around her shoulder and leading her back to the living room. "Why do you think she does?"

"Have you SEEN the looks she's given me whenever you casually put your arm around my shoulders, or whenever I try to brush a kiss against your cheek?"

"It's just her motherly protection." Ciaran smiled. "I'm her only child, I guess it's natural she'd be so protective. And don't forget, I'm bi-polar as well."

"I know," Wendi said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I haven't been myself recently."

"It's all right." Ciaran said with a small grin. He took Elizabeth from her and cooed softly at her. "We don't mind, Mummy." he said as Elizabeth began to whimper. "I love the fact that she's got Mum's eyes. Dad said he had hoped I looked like her. But he's happy with Elizabeth."

"Didn't you say he wanted you to have a little sister?" Wendi asked, glancing at her daughter.

Ciaran nodded, frowning. "Mum put her foot down. She said she couldn't handle it, but I think that's not the only reason."

Wendi giggled despite her mood. "It would have been cute, with you having a little sister. But I guess since your mum was an only child, she was happier that way."

"Yeah," Ciaran said softly. "Lizzy, when are you going to start sleeping through the night?" he asked as Elizabeth's whimpers began to fade as she yawned, looking at him curiously.

"That's so cute." Wendi said with a tiny happy sigh. "You make a great father, Ciaran."

Ciaran did not answer her. He was thinking about what she had said. Did his mother really not like Wendi? He'd have to ask his father.

Silently, he got to his feet and carried the now-sleeping Elizabeth into the nursery, placing her in the crib next to Sage.

"Ciaran?" Wendi asked, placing her hand on his arm. "I didn't upset you, did I?"

"No." he said, shaking his head. "No, I was just thinking."

"Are you sure? I mean, I know how you are about your mother. And all this trouble I've caused..." Wendi trailed off with a small sigh.

Brushing a soft kiss against Wendi's forehead, Ciaran murmured, "No, you haven't. Keep an eye on them, all right? I'm going to go talk to my parents."


	30. Chapter 30

All Grown Up

Chapter 30

Ciaran was a bit unhappy with the fact that his mother wasn't home. And Remus could tell. "What, nothing I can help you with?" he half-joked, leading Ciaran into the kitchen.

"Well... there is one thing you could help me with." Ciaran muttered, accepting the cup of tea Remus offered him. "Does Mum hate Wendi?"

Remus considered his son's question. "Well," he said, thoughtfully, slowly lowering his own cup. "I can't really answer that." At the look on his son's face, he sighed softly. "There have been times when she's lashed out at Wendi in anger, but I really don't think she hates her. Why does that bother you so much?"

"I just wanted them to get along." Ciaran said, his tone soft, his brown eyes glittering with tears. "They both mean so much to me."

"I know," Remus whispered. "Right now, though, I think it's best if you don't let this bother you. You have to worry about Elizabeth."

"That's another thing." Ciaran groaned. "I love that kid. She means so much to me. But I'm beginning to think Mum was right."

"About?" Remus prodded gently. He was silently hoping Gen would come back soon. It was easier for her to talk to Ciaran.

Ciaran hung his head. It wasn't like him to admit he was wrong. "She was right." he said again. This time much more confident. "We shouldn't have had kids. At least not this early."

"What makes you say that?" Remus asked, hearing the front door unlock. 'She would show up NOW, wouldn't she?' he thought.

Gen headed into the kitchen, her hair windswept. Looking from Remus to Ciaran, she sat downnext to her son, placing her hand comfortingly on his arm. "What's the matter, sweetie?" she murmured gently.

"I don't know, Mum." he whispered. "Everything, I suppose."

Gen exchanged a look with Remus. She had been on the verge of saying, "I told you so." but hearing the hurt in her son's voice, she bit the remark back. "Ciaran." she whispered. "What's wrong?"

Ciaran, with a weak sort of smile, launched into what he had meant to tell her. "Wendi thinks you hate her. Elizabeth won't sleep through the night, Sage has finally started to. I'm basically taking care of them on my own." He paused to catch his breath and caught his parents exchanging looks. "What was that about?" he asked them.

"Nothing." Gen murmured. "Anything else, love?"

"Wendi says I'm not mature enough to handle this. But she's not really done anything with the twins. What can I do, Mum?"

Gen sighed heavily. "Ciaran," she paused, unsure of what she was going to say. Looking at Remus for help, she murmured, "Why don't you... why don't you take a little time away from her? You can stay here. And bring the twins. Your father and I can help you take care of them."

"I don't know, Mum..." Ciaran began. He would have loved a little time away from Wendi, but he was unsure of how she was going to react. "I appreciate the offer, Mum..."

"That sounds like a 'no.'" Gen smiled. "Remus, what do you think?"

"It's his choice, Gwendolyn." Remus said evenly.

"Oh, gee, side with him." Gen said sadly. "But you're right." Turning to Ciaran, she said, "Why don't you go try to work it out with Wendi? If not, the offer's still open."

"Thanks, Mum." Ciaran muttered, getting to his feet. "Oh, Mum, I came by to ask you something." He considered blurting out his question, but shrugged and said, "It can wait."


	31. Chapter 31

All Grown Up

Chapter 31

An hour after Ciaran left, Gen found herself curled up on the couch, resting her head on her arm and gazing at Remus, though she was so deep in thought she barely noticed him.

"All right, Gwendolyn," Remus sighed. "What's on your mind?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm just worried about Ciaran." she sighed softly. Catching the look on Remus's face, she sighed again and said, "What? He's my baby, you can't expect me NOT to worry about him!"

"No, I can't expect that," Remus began softly. "But Gwendolyn, you can't baby him forever. I meant it the first time I said it, and I mean it now."

"I'm not babying him!" Gen exclaimed, sitting up and glaring at Remus. Her expression immediately softened. "I'm sorry." she whispered. "I just -- "

"Don't worry about it." Remus smiled. Getting to his feet, he grabbed their cloaks and said, "Come on. A trip to Hogsmeade'll do you better than just sitting here, worrying about Ciaran."

"You're right, as always." she said with a small smile as she took her cloak. "I don't know if I'll be the best of company, though."

"It'll be fine." Remus smiled, wrapping his arm protectively around her waist. "Try to enjoy yourself."

"I'll try." she said, a note of sadness in her voice.

"Please try to do more than try." Remus laughed.

Gen did not answer. She was rather quiet as they headed past the shops and did not answer when Remus asked her where she wanted to go. "Moony, I don't care." she muttered, finally, not noticing the concerned look on his face.

He entwined his fingers with hers and gave her hand a comforting squeeze as he led her into The Three Broomsticks. "Gwennie, there's something else bothering you, isn't there?"

She shook her head. "Why do you think that?" she asked softly as he held out her chair for her.

"Well," he began, taking his seat and linking his fingers with hers once more, "you're not usually this quiet, for one."

"It's nothing, Remus." she sighed, taking her hand from his. "I'm just so worried about Ciaran, that's all."

Remus frowned and said, "Gwendolyn, he doesn't like it when you worry about him. He agrees that he's an adult, he doesn't need your help all the time."

"I know he doesn't, but it's my place to worry about him." she said, sounding close to tears. She glanced at him, her blue eyes indeed brimming with tears and said, "Remus, admit it, this is bothering you, too."

He sighed and nodded. "Of course it is, Gwendolyn. But please don't let Ciaran know it's bothering either of us. It might cause them to split up."

Gen slowly nodded. "I won't, Remus. I promise you that."

"Thank you." he whispered, bringing her hand to her lips. "Now why don't you enjoy yourself?"

"I don't think I can." she said, dropping her gaze to the table. "Remus, I'm really sorry. You try to do something nice for me and I'm not in the mood."

"It's all right." Remus smiled. "Though I'm not taking you home just yet. You're going to enjoy yourself before we go home."

"Take me home and I'll enjoy myself much better." she said with a mischievous grin.


	32. Chapter 32

All Grown Up

Chapter 32

Sighing softly, Gen found herself awake long after Remus had nodded off, his arm thrown protectively over her stomach. 'He just doesn't understand.' she thought with a tiny frown. 'Hell, it's so easy for him to ignore Ciaran, he's done it for years.' She immediately regretted thinking that, but knew it was true.

Remus muttered something in his sleep, interrupting her thoughts. "Oh, Remus." she sighed, brushing a quick kiss against his cheek and wriggled out from under his arm.

She padded into the kitchen as softly as she could and was very tempted to rummage around in search of something alcoholic, but opted against it, considered the amount of noise it would make and how mad Remus would be if she woke him up. With a tiny grimace, she opted instead for a cup of tea.

Her new owl, Deon, who had been a birthday present from Remus and Ciaran after the loss of Frank, hooted, happy to see her owner. Gen smiled softly, placed her cup of tea of the table, opened the window and allowed Deon out to hunt. She shut the window as silently as she could and curled up in Remus's chair, snatching up the nearby copy of _The Evening Prophet._

"Anything to keep me from checking up on Ciaran." she sighed, thumbing through it and finding nothing of interest.

Dropping it back on the table, and nearly spilling her unwanted tea, Gen let out a tiny groan of frustration. On the one hand, Ciaran was her son, it was her motherly duty to worry about him and keep an eye on him. On the other, Remus would be awfully mad at her if she went. "And who knows how mad Ciaran'll be?" she added to herself, wincing as she heard the rumbling of thunder outside.

"Well, at the least the weather knows how I feel." she grumbled, curling back up and promptly falling asleep.

Remus was awoken by the thunder and let out a tiny groan, not finding Gen curled up next to him like she usually was. "Gwendolyn." he grumbled, getting out of bed. "She had better be here."

He found her curled up in his chair, her head pillowed on her hands. Deon was sitting at the windowsill, a dead rat clutched in her beak, trying to will the window open.

Remus crossed the room and opened the window; Deon flew inside, lighting on her cage, hooting happily at him, though it was a rather muffled hoot.

"Come back to bed, Gwendolyn." Remus murmured, shaking her gently. She stirred, but remained asleep. "That chair's not THAT comfortable." he muttered to himself, heading back into the bedroom and grabbing the blanket at the foot of the bed.

Back in the living room, he covered her with it, frowning slightly. "Remus," she murmured softly. He was unsure if she was still asleep.

"Gwendolyn?"

"I love you." she murmured, ending with a tiny sigh.

"I love you, too." he whispered. "Now why don't you come back to bed?"

She murmured something he did not completely understand, but he was sure she would rather stay in the chair. Feeling slightly rejected, he whispered a good night and headed back to the bedroom.


	33. Chapter 33

All Grown Up

Chapter 33

Remus was up bright and early the next morning. During the night, Gen had gotten up and curled up next to him in the bed. With a tiny frown, he got up, quickly showered and changed and waited for the post owl.

About mid-way through an article of absolutely zero interest to him, Remus heard a faint knock at the door. "Ciaran? Isn't it a bit early?"

"Yeah." Ciaran muttered, shuffling his feet nervously. "But Elizabeth is starting to catch a cold, and I was wondering if Mum knew of anything that might help." He barely caught the look on his father's face when he mentioned his mother. "What?" he asked gently.

"Nothing." Remus muttered off-handedly.

"No, I saw that look." Ciaran said, giving Remus a look not unlike the ones his mother gave Remus when she knew he was hiding something. "What's going on between you two?"

"It's nothing, Ciaran." Remus muttered. "You've got enough to deal with, anyway."

"Is it me?" Ciaran asked suddenly. "You can tell me. If it's me, then -- "

"It's not." Remus sighed wearily. 'Although,' he thought as he sank down onto the couch, 'it does seem like it.'

Ciaran began to frown. "Come off it, Dad. Sure, you're not really one to tell anyone what's going on, but you know I won't complain if it's me. Hell, I can understand. I mean, Mum's been babying me as of late and I know you don't like that. And I know I don't like that. And I'm pretty sure Deon doesn't like it." he joked.

Deon, upon hearing her name, hooted loudly.

It seemed Remus did not plan on telling Ciaran what was bothering him, so, Ciaran sighed heavily and headed to his parents' bedroom. "Mum?" he asked, crawling into the bed and bouncing on it as he had often done to Remus when he was little.

"What's the matter, Ciaran?" she asked softly, stretching out and burying her face in Remus's pillow. "Can't this wait?"

"Well, no, not really."

"What is it?" she asked wearily, opening one eye lazily.

"Your granddaughter's starting to catch a cold." Ciaran smiled. "What should I do? I mean, I really don't feel like taking her to St. Mungo's unless I absolutely have to."

Gen, fairly certain he wasn't going to allow her to get another half hour of sleep, propped herself up on her elbow and said, "Well, give her a tiny sip of Pepper-Up Potion. Not too much, though. And just keep an eye on her. If she doesn't get better, you might have to take her to St. Mungo's."

"Thanks." Ciaran muttered dryly. "Oh, and one last thing?"

"What?"

"What's going on between you and Dad? He seems pretty..." He did not finish. His tone was very concerned and he stared at Gen, looking as though he were on the verge of tears.

"Ciaran," Gen began softly, brushing his bangs out of his face in a motherly gesture, "your father and I have just hit a sort of rough patch, like you and Wendi have."

"Wendi and I worked through it last night." Ciaran muttered, brushing her hand away. "You and Dad haven't argued like this since Wendi and I got engaged. I -- "

"It's not you, baby." Gen cooed softly. "I promise."

"That's what he said." Ciaran muttered sourly. "And I don't believe either of you."

Before Gen could say anything else, he was all ready at the door, muttering a quick 'Thanks'. With a sigh, Gen flopped against the pillows, frowning. Now Ciaran was upset with her. 'Great.' Gen thought.


	34. Chapter 34

All Grown Up

Chapter 34

Note: I've had, like, zero ideas for The Actual Student Exchange Program, which shall be ending soon, and no reviews for Bitterest of Enemies, so I'm updating this again.

Wendi flat-out disapproved of giving Elizabeth a tiny sip of Pepper-Up Potion. "It's too strong for her, Ciaran."

"That's what Mum said to do." Ciaran sighed, trying to get a very irritable Elizabeth to swallow a tiny sip of the potion. Every drop that went near her mouth she would spit right back out. "Elizabeth, please, it'll make you feel better, I promise." he said weakly as she glared an evil baby death glare at him and started to sniffle.

"Maybe you should get your Mum over here. She could get her to take it." Wendi suggested, holding a sleeping Sage.

Ciaran merely shook his head as Elizabeth began to wail. Sage soon woke up and began to cry as well.

"Oh, Sage." Wendi sighed, trying to get him to go back to sleep. "I'm sorry, it's not my fault your sister's grumpy and keeps waking you up." Turning to Ciaran, she added, "Why not? Your mum could get her to take that in two seconds and you've been trying for five minutes."

"Because I really don't feel like talking to Mum right now." Ciaran muttered, giving up and setting the potion down on the table. Elizabeth immediately ceased her tears, looking at Ciaran in a slightly confused manner. "You look like your mum when you do that." Ciaran told her.

"Well, why not?" Wendi demanded. "What has she done now?"

"She and my dad aren't getting along right now." he muttered. "And I don't want to get in the middle of it. And I think I'm the main reason they're arguing."

Wendi rolled her eyes at Sage, who began to giggle. "Ciaran, your mum is always causing some kind of conflict. And don't snap at me for saying that. You know it's true."

"I know it's true, Wendi. You don't have to tell me." Ciaran said, doing as Wendi asked him not to do and snapping at her. "I'm sorry, Wendi." he murmured. "I just hate it when they fight. I always get caught up in it or I'm the cause of it and I want to stay out of this."

Elizabeth was now growing very angry at him for not paying her any mind and as soon as his bangs came into her reach, she pulled, hard. Ciaran whimpered as he noticed several longish brown hairs tightly clutched in Elizabeth's hand.

"My hair." he whined. Wendi was not helping very much by laughing. "And my pride."

"You worry too much about your hair anyway, Ciaran." Wendi said, still giggling. "It'll grow back. And besides, she didn't pull that much out."

Ciaran frowned at her as she continued to giggle. "You're so mean, Wendi. I think you're being a bad influence on Elizabeth."

"I am not!" Wendi said, stopping her laughter instantly. Then, seeing as how she could not help herself, she began to laugh some more. "I'm sorry, it's just too funny, Ciaran."

Ciaran managed a tiny smile. But started to frown again as Elizabeth started to sneeze. "I told you it would make you feel better, but nooo, you had to spit it out, didn't you?" Elizabeth began to whimper again and clung very tightly to him. "Awww, I can't be too mad at you." he murmured. "Unlike your mum. I can stay mad at her all I want to."

"Hey!"

"What?" Ciaran asked her. "Elizabeth is so sweet. And she doesn't insult me."

"She just pulls your hair." Wendi smiled.

"As long as she doesn't do it too often, I still love her." Ciaran smiled, brushing a light kiss against his daughter's forehead. "She's got a fever." he murmured.

"Why don't you both go get a nap?" Wendi asked gently, placing her hand comfortingly on Ciaran's arm. "Sage and I'll be fine."

"I think I will." Ciaran muttered, getting to his feet and carrying Elizabeth into their bedroom. "You don't mind if she sleep on the bed with me, do you?"

"As long as she doesn't get used to it." Wendi smiled.


	35. Chapter 35

All Grown Up

Chapter 35

Elizabeth was still sniffling and feverish a couple days later, so Ciaran decided to go ahead and take her to St. Mungo's. "I don't want to." he muttered, bundling her up and clinging tightly to his daughter.

"I know you don't." Wendi sighed softly, placing her hand comfortingly on his arm. "Do you want to go tell your mum?"

"No." Ciaran frowned. "No, we shouldn't bother them. Besides, they're probably too busy arguing to even know she's sick." Wendi let out a noise of disapproval and and took Elizabeth from Ciaran, cooing softly to her as Ciaran randomly threw things aside, looking for his jacket.

"Ciaran, they're her grandparents, they need to know." she murmured, giving Elizabeth a look that plainly said 'If he's not telling them, I am.'

Elizabeth sneezed in response.

"Come on, Liz." Ciaran sighed, taking her back from Wendi. "And don't bother to tell my parents." he added as he paused at the door. "Trust me, they won't care, especially Mum."

"Ciaran John Lupin -- " Before she could finish that thought, he slammed the front door and bounded down the steps, promptly Disapparating at the bottom.

"Oh, come on, Sage." Wendi sighed, taking a fussy Sage from his crib. "Let's go see your grandparents."

Soon, though, she wished she hadn't decided to tell them. Gen was home, Remus wasn't. 'Usually, it's the other way 'round.' Wendi thought, settling down on the couch with Sage.

Gen looked as though she were trying very hard not to let on how upset she was. And she was failing at it. Her cheeks were pink as though she had been yelling at Remus and her blue eyes glittered with tears. She wasn't being very talkative, merely deepening her frown when Wendi told her Ciaran took Elizabeth to St. Mungo's.

Hesitating, Wendi added in a soft tone, "He didn't want me to tell you. He said you wouldn't care and that you and his father were probably arguing."

"It seems all we've done lately is argue." Gen groaned, taking Sage from Wendi as he reached for her.

"Why?" Wendi asked, looking startled and slightly confused. "I thought you two got along so well!"

With a sigh, Gen muttered, "He's just, ah, against my parenting, I suppose."

Sage looked at her curiously, trying to reach up and grab a handful of her black hair, but it was pulled back and he couldn't grab any, so he began to sniffle.

"Sage," Wendi began softly, taking him from Gen, "your gran doesn't feel like dealing with your whining. I'm sorry, he's been like this ever since Elizabeth has been ill."

"It's all right." Gen sighed weakly.

"I'll take him home if you want me to."

"If you want." Gen muttered, sounding distracted.

When Wendi got home, Ciaran was all ready there. "How's Elizabeth?" she asked softly, carrying a now-sleeping Sage to the crib.

"She's going to stay there for a few days." Ciaran muttered off-handedly. "I take it you told my parents?"

"Just your mum." Wendi answered, tucking the blankets around Sage and following Ciaran back to the living room. "Your dad wasn't there. Ciaran, I think you need to go check on your mum. She seemed rather upset."

"I told you, Wendi," Ciaran said with a frown and a tiny little sigh as he pulled her into his lap, brushing a kiss against her cheek. "I'm not getting caught up in this. Ever since I was little, they've argued. And I'm not taking sides."

"But Ciaran, I think it'll do your mum some good -- "

"No."


	36. Chapter 36

All Grown Up

Chapter 36

"Oh, Sagey-poo." Wendi sighed the morning after Elizabeth got out of the hospital. "It looks like it's just me and you. Daddy and Elizabeth seem to be getting along better. I guess we need to start trying to get along."

Sage cooed and kicked her hands away as she tried to put some socks on him. "Sage, your little feet are so cold. Besides, we're going to check up on your gran today. So behave, all right?"

Sage was very content to misbehave, but something in his mother's voice told him he had better behave. He did not fuss any until they arrived at his grandparents' house. Once he saw Gen, he whimpered and reached for her, but she did not take him. "Feeling any better today?" Wendi asked Gen, who shook her head.

"No, I'm not." she sniffled. "Remus went with Elizabeth and Ciaran." she added, sinking into Remus's chair as Deon hooted happily at Wendi.

"And that's not helping much?" Wendi asked, confused.

"Remus only has eyes for his granddaughter." Gen said, giving Wendi a look that Wendi quickly understood. "But, no, I haven't been drinking." she said, answering her daughter-in-law's unasked question.

"Well, that's good." Wendi murmured as Sage continued to whimper and reach for Gen.

:I suppose." Gen said sadly. "Though I really could use a Firewhiskey right about now."

"Don't." Wendi began softly. "Think of how Remus would feel if you did."

"Honey, he doesn't notice me anymore, I just said that." Gen groaned. "And Ciaran's still slightly pissed with me."

"But – but I don't want you to drink." Wendi said, her lower lip trembling. "And Sage and Elizabeth shouldn't have to worry about you getting drunk. And -- "

She was cut off by the front door opening and Ciaran, carrying Elizabeth, and Remus stepped inside. "Hey." Wendi smiled. "We were just talking about you three."

"Knowing Mum, it wasn't nice." Ciaran muttered, brushing a kiss against Wendi's cheek. Elizabeth reached for her mother, cooing.

Wendi and Remus noticed the hurt look on Gen's face and Wendi, fearing that Gen would head off to a pub, quickly took Elizabeth and handed her to Gen. "Hi, Lizzy." Gen murmured softly as Elizabeth cooed happily. "Well, at least you're happy to see me."

Remus sighed softly and said, "Gen, for once, please don't cause any trouble."

"I'm not." Gen said, her voice breaking. "I'm just... oh, nevermind."

Ciaran and Wendi soon left after that; Wendi holding onto Sage and Elizabeth happily clinging to her father. "Ciaran," Wendi began softly, "why do you have to upset your mother like that? She -- "

"I don't want to get involved with his. I don't care how tough a time she's having. Dad's told me all of this. I think he was trying to get me on his side. And I told him I'm NOT getting in on this, so drop it, Wendi."

"Oh? Did he also tell you he hasn't been paying her any attention since Lizzy came along?" Wendi demanded.

"Yes, he did." Ciaran said, his tone indifferent. "Wendi, she can't make him sleep with her whenever she wants. Why are you siding with my mum, anyway?"

"She needs someone to!" Wendi snapped. "And if you're not going to, I will!"


	37. Chapter 37

All Grown Up

Chapter 37

Wendi had managed to get Elizabeth away from Ciaran, and she also managed to get Gen to leave her house, so, the three of them were sharing some womanly bonding at Diagon Alley. Elizabeth was enjoying the attention, and the ice cream.

She sat in Wendi's lap, cooing happily as Wendi offered her tiny bits of her banana split. "You sure you don't want anything?" she asked Gen, who looked deeply distraught.

"I'm sure." Gen whispered. "Although, I could use some more robes. Remind me when we head that way."

"No problem." Wendi murmured. "Anything else we need to get?"

Gen thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, nothing I could think of right now."

"All right." Wendi said with a falsely cheerful smile. "Let's let Elizabeth get finished and then we'll go get your robes and head home."

"Fine with me." Gen sighed. "Mind if I carry her for a while?" she asked as Wendi tried to get Elizabeth comfortable and take the ice cream away from her at the same time.

"No." Wendi said with a grateful smile. "By all means."

Elizabeth looked curiously from her mother to her grandmother, then cooed happily, nuzzling closely to Gen. "Well, at least you love me." Gen said with another sigh.

"Hey, what about me?" Wendi demanded, catching up to Gen and Elizabeth. "I'm sticking up for you!"

"I know you are, and I thank you for it." Gen muttered. "But, really, Wendi, you shouldn't have Ciaran mad at you for sticking up for me. I mean, he's my son, after all, and who knows him better than I do?"

"That's true." Wendi sighed, holding open the door to Madam Malkin's robe shop. "But, forget it. If he won't take up for you, I will. It's not fair for you to have them both mad at you and no one by you."

"Hmm." was all Gen said as she bit back her real remark as she carefully balanced Elizabeth on one hip as she browsed through the robes. "I just need something casual." she sighed as she brushed her fingers against a pale purple sleeve.

"That would look good on you." Wendi remarked. "Besides, I think you need to branch away from blue." she added with a giggle.

"That's what Remus says." Gen sighed.

"Well, it's true!" Wendi said, not noticing the note of sadness in Gen's voice. "About ninety percent of your wardrobe is blue, and about ninety percent of THAT is the same shade as your eyes."

"It looks good on me." Gen argued. "I LIKE my blue wardrobe. Besides, it matches my mood."

"Ciaran's the same way. Have you noticed his wardrobe?" Wendi asked, her hands on her hips. "Blacks, browns, and the occasional white. And that's basically it."

Gen was silent after Wendi finished her rant. Wendi, unused to the deafening silence, shuffled her feet nervously and asked, "Well, how about some red?" as she pointed out a pair of crimson robes.

With a weak smile, Gen said, "I wore robes that color when I played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"You did?" Wendi asked, very interested in the wizarding sport. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm. I don't really like that shade of red." Gen murmured. "I suppose I can get that yellow, and maybe this purple..."

Wendi took Elizabeth from Gen as Gen was fitted for her new robes and paid for them, speaking in hushed tones to Madam Malkin. "Lizzy, I wish we could all get along." Wendi murmured with a sigh. "We need to get home." she added as Gen joined them.

"Yeah, Remus'll probably be thinking I've run off or something." Gen sighed. "I'll see you two later."


	38. Chapter 38

All Grown Up

Chapter 38

Elizabeth and Sage sat on the floor, staring at their parents, crying wildly as Wendi and Ciaran had it out. "I can't believe you, Ciaran!" Wendi spat, her cheeks red, tears brimming in her eyes. "She's your mother. She RAISED you. And you go and repay her like this?"

"Don't bring this up again." he spat back. "I didn't want to get involved in this. But I would much rather stick up for my father than for my mum!"

"And why would that be?" Wendi demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Because my mother is spoiled! She can't always have her way."

Wendi groaned loudly. "Ciaran, dammit, I don't care how spoiled she is! She would never, ever turn her back on you like this!"

"What about when we decided to get married?" Ciaran countered.

"She was right about that! Look where it led us!"

"Don't bring the twins into this, either!" Ciaran hissed. "It's not their fault!"

"You're right." Wendi snapped, grabbing her jacket and heading for the door. "It's yours."

She did not bother to hear his response, merely slamming the door as loud as she could behind her. 'Oh, but where am I going to go now?' she thought, not feeling like visiting Gen. 'I hope Ciaran can handle the twins.'

Ciaran, however, was having trouble. He had just realized that they both were crying. And that they both wanted attention. "Great." he groaned, picking up Elizabeth and sitting down with her before picking up Sage and pulling him into his lap, too. "All right, you two," he began with a frown. "Calm down and we can go see your grandparents."

Sage immediately quieted down. Elizabeth still began to utter soft whimpers. "Lizzy," Ciaran murmured, "Calm down, Mum'll be back soon." Ciaran crooned.

With a tiny whimper, Elizabeth clung to him. "Aww, poor Lizzy." Ciaran murmured, smoothing her dark red hair back as he managed a soft smile. "A mix of my two favorite women. Just don't wind up like either of them."

Turning his attention to Sage, He said, "And you. Well, I don't really know what to think about you."

Sage surveyed him, looking deeply bored, and yawned loudly.

"So much for visiting your grandparents." Ciaran sighed, carrying them both to the bedroom he shared with Wendi. "But a nap does sound perfect right about now."

Sage curled up and immediately went to sleep. Ciaran, too, was out almost instantly. Elizabeth was not very sleepy in the least. With tiny whimpers, she glanced at her father. But he was too fast asleep to hear her.

So, she scrambled out of the bed and attempted to crawl into the living room. And bumped right into her mother.

"Where's Daddy and Sage, Lizzy?" Wendi asked with a scowl. "Awww." she sighed happily, Elizabeth clinging tightly around her neck, as she peeked in on Ciaran and Sage. "They're so cute when they're asleep." she murmured. "Let's leave them be, all right?"


	39. Chapter 39

All Grown Up

Chapter 39

After another long, but this time quieter, argument with Wendi, Ciaran decided it would be best to apologize to his mother. "But if she doesn't accept my apology," Ciaran whispered, clinging to Sage as they headed up the walk leading to his parents' house, "it's not my fault."

Wendi said nothing. Elizabeth began to squirm when she saw her grandfather. Remus wearily took her Wendi and led them inside. "Your mother's still in bed." he said softly, catching the confused look on Ciaran's face.

"Is she tired, or is it a hangover?" Ciaran asked with a frown.

"What do you think?" Remus answered with a sigh.

His frown deepening, Ciaran handed Sage to Wendi and headed to his parents' bedroom. Wendi gave Remus a reassuring smile as she shifted Sage to her other arm. "I'm really sorry." she whispered. "I tried to talk her out of drinking."

"It's my fault, don't worry about it." Remus said distractedly, not bothering to wince as Elizabeth grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged.

"Elizabeth, don't." Wendi sighed. "I don't know where she picked up hair pulling." she added weakly as Remus disentangled Elizabeth's tiny fingers from his hair.

"Probably her grandmother. That's Gen's worse habit, except she pulls her own hair."

With a tiny giggle, Wendi said, "Yes, I think it would be better if she pulled her own hair. Both of them can be rather dangerous at times."

"That's for sure." Remus groaned. "Especially Gwendolyn."

"She tries." Wendi began softly. "She really does, and I don't think you two should be so hard on her."

"I tried to tell her that last night." Remus frowned.

"And?" Wendi asked. "Or do I really not need to know?"

"I'd rather you didn't know." Remus sighed. "I hope Ciaran can get her to come around."

"He will." Wendi said, not sounding too sure.

If anything, Ciaran was making it worse. "I came to apologize, but I suppose you're too hungover to understand anything I'm saying. That's lovely, Mum, really good example you're setting for your grandchildren."

"Oh, shut up, Ciaran." Gen groaned, pulling the pillow over her head. "It's all your fault, anyway." she added, her voice muffled.

"It's not my fault you're a drunk." he spat.

"But it's your fault I drank. Yours and your father's. Why do you both have to be so mean to me?"

"We're not mean. You're spoiled. That's your problem."

"Please!" Gen groaned, pulling the pillow off of her head and throwing it at her son. "Your father has never spoiled me. And my parents sure as hell didn't."

"Mum," Ciaran whispered, "I'm trying to help, OK? I know it doesn't seem that way, but I really don't want anything to happen to you."

Gen frowned at him and said, "Give me a minute to get dressed, OK? Then me, you, your father and Wendi can have a nice, long chat."


	40. Chapter 40

All Grown Up

Chapter 40

After Ciaran left, Gen scrambled out of bed, grabbed a clean pair of robes, quickly changed, ran a brush through her hair and, with a sigh, headed into the living room. Ciaran and Wendi, Sage happily cooing between them, were on the love seat. Wendi gave her a soft, reassuring smile.

Remus was in chair, Elizabeth sitting in his lap. She saw Gen and began to squirm, reaching for her.

Gen ignored her granddaughter and curled up on the end of the couch nearest to Remus. Elizabeth whimpered and reached for her. With a tiny smile, Remus handed her to Gen. "Hey, Pumpkin." Gen murmured. "You're all ready spoiled. Poor Sage is pretty much ignored."

Sage glanced around upon hearing his name. "We don't ignore Sage." Wendi smiled, picking up her son. "But we do pay Elizabeth more attention." she added weakly.

"Because she's special." Ciaran laughed.

It seemed none of the adults really wanted to start the conversation properly. Mainly for fear of the others yelling and causing a fuss, which would undoubtedly cause the twins to start crying.

Finally, Ciaran sighed and said, "Mum, look, I've done some pretty stupid things. So has Dad and Wendi, but you always seem to take it out on me."

"Well, yes, I do." Gen sighed weakly. "Mainly because Wendi is not my daughter and your father..." she trailed off with a faint smile at Remus, who did not return it. "Oh, what's the point?" she added, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Now you see why I'm a drunk." Gen spat, catching the sympathetic look Wendi gave her.

"No, actually, your drinking started way before that." Remus pointed out.

Gen opened her mouth to argue with him, but quickly shut it and looked away. "Come on, Mum." Ciaran began gently. "I thought we were getting all this out. Get all of this over with."

Gen shook her head and said, "Ciaran, sweetie, that's my business with your father."

"Mother, maybe you should -- "

"No." Gen said, softly yet firmly.

Ciaran nodded in an understanding manner. He would have to talk to her later. She used to take great comfort in her son's caring ways. Of course, he had been younger and less snippy with her then. But she certainly looked like she could use some comfort from her son.

"You're worried about your mum, aren't you?" Wendi whispered to Ciaran.

"Of course. But I doubt she wants anything to do with me right now."

"I think she does. She needs someone right now, and your dad has been neglecting her."

"What are you two whispering about?" Gen demanded, trying to hold Elizabeth still.

"Nothing, Mum." Ciaran said softly.

Gen looked as though she did not believe him, but did not say anything. "Lizzy, sit still." Gen sighed.

"Mum, she loves you." Ciaran smiled. "She's just happy to see you."

"At least someone is." Gen murmured, rubbing her face against Elizabeth's soft red hair. "You're so sweet." she sighed softly. "I don't deserve to have such a sweet granddaughter, especially since I've been a major git lately."

"We've all been terrible lately." Wendi said softly. "It's not just you. So don't blame yourself."

"Gwendolyn has a history of blaming herself." Remus muttered. "I've grown used to it. I think Ciaran has, too."

Ciaran nodded slowly. "She shouldn't, though." he said with a sigh. "Dad, if it's all right with you, I'd like to talk with Mum alone."

"By all means." Remus nodded. 'It'll do her some good.' he thought.


	41. Chapter 41

All Grown Up

Chapter 41

"I hope we're going to a pub." Gen muttered as Ciaran shut the door behind them and glanced at her, looking worried.

"No, we're just going to walk." Ciaran replied. "Mum, I don't want you drinking. You shouldn't."

Gen merely shrugged, looking deeply depressed. She did not change her expression as Ciaran wrapped his arm comfortingly around her shoulder.

Thankful she did not shrug him away, Ciaran continued. "Mum, I'm worried about you. Sure, I'm not your baby anymore, but you can still talk to me. You know I don't mind. Even if I'm mad at you, or your mad at me, and you don't want to talk to Daddy, I'm always here."

"I know you are, but you've been so busy with the twins..." Gen trailed off with a sigh.

"Mum, what's on your mind?" Ciaran asked softly.

"Oh, everything." she murmured.

When she did not go further, Ciaran said, "Go on, Mum. I promise I won't tell."

With a weary, but thankful, groan, Gen said, "It's just... your father's been so mad at me as of late, and I'm not entirely sure why. You've decided to take his side, which has never happened before. Wendi is trying to help, but she's not doing the best job. I know she's trying, but I'd rather she didn't." She looked as though she wished to continue, but she held back.

"Mother, I'm sorry." Ciaran said with his own sigh. "I didn't want to get involved with this. I didn't want to side with either of you, but I guess he kind of accidentally pitied me into it. And I kind of felt bad for being so harsh to him when I was younger."

Gen gave Ciaran a warm smile and said, "It's understandable. I know you love your father, even though you've been a holy terror to him ever since you were young. You used to adore him, but..."

She trailed off and Ciaran understood why. She did not enjoy talking about his childhood and he really didn't either. So he definitely wasn't going to gently prod her into talking about that.

Instead, he asked, "So, want to tell me what spawned this new argument between you and Daddy?"

"Oh, Ciaran, you really don't need to concern yourself with that. Mummy and Daddy's personal business. Even though it was also about you. Sort of."

"Why was it about me?" Ciaran demanded, looking slightly put-off.

"Sweetie, you've got to understand, we don't mean to drag you in, but you just usually wind up falling into our arguments. You know how I've been lately. About you marrying Wendi and about the twins, and all that. Well, you know how your father's been, as well. I just mentioned something and next thing I knew, we were yelling at each other."

"I'm sorry, Mum." Ciaran murmured. "Is there anything I can do, besides trying to talk to Dad?"

"I don't think so, baby." Gen frowned. "I wish there was. And besides, I think you need to leave your dad to me."

"Mum, really, you've been so upset lately. I think it would be best if I talked to him."

Gen opened her mouth to protest, then shook her head and said, "All right, sweetie, if you think it'll help."

Ciaran gave her a reassuring smile and they turned back, Gen feeling nervous and looking even more upset than when they started out. 'I hope this works.' she thought sadly.


	42. Chapter 42

All Grown Up

Chapter 42

Ciaran glanced back at his mother, who was holding a happy Sage in her lap while Elizabeth whined and reached for her, before shutting the door behind him. His father glanced curiously at him, his hands in his pockets, his head cocked to the side.

"Don't give me that look." Ciaran said with a tiny sigh.

"What look?" Remus asked, his tone hinting innocence.

"You know what look." Ciaran snapped.

"Oh," Remus sighed. "This would be about your mother."

"Yes, it would." Ciaran muttered. "Why are you mad at her?" he demanded, his arms folded over his chest. He had that stern, unforgiving look on his face that was very similar to his mother's when she was mad. "What did she do?"

"Don't worry about it." Remus muttered, looking away from his son, trying to fight back a smile. "That's between myself and your mother."

"I'm tired of you both saying that! It's as much my business as it is yours! Mum's already told me that this is partly about me."

"She would." Remus sighed. "I thought you didn't want to get involved with this."

"I don't. But she's my mother, and, like it or not, I'll take up for her faster than I will you. I'm just angry at myself for not taking up for her earlier."

Without another word, Ciaran headed back inside the house. Deon began to hoot loudly at him. "Oh, shut up, bloody bird." he muttered, sinking down on the couch next to his mother.

Gen gave her son a sympathetic smile as she handed Sage to him. Sage looked at his father, then turned and reached for Gen again. "No, he wants you, Mum."

Gen could tell by his tone that it hadn't gone the way Ciaran wanted it to. "Thanks for trying, love." Gen murmured, ignoring Sage as he reached for her again.

Wendi frowned, biting back her comment. Instead, she focused her attention on Elizabeth, who was whimpering and had realized she wasn't going to get Gen's attention. So now, she was reaching for Ciaran, who wasn't about to take her either. He was holding Sage, who quickly began to cry because Gen was ignoring him.

Elizabeth soon followed.

"Oh, you two." Gen sighed, taking Sage from Ciaran. "Don't you two ever stop?"

From the sound of her voice, it was apparent she felt like joining them. But she kept herself composed as she murmured softly to Sage, who stopped nearly immediately.

"Oh, that's all you wanted. And Daddy says I'm spoiled." she added with a tiny smile in her son's direction.

Ciaran stammered nervously, then rolled his eyes and started to laugh. "Fine, I spoil my kids. Happy now, Mum?"

"No," Gen began, "because I didn't get to spoil you. And it makes me feel awful."

"You can spoil me now." Ciaran said with a grin at Wendi, who stifled her giggles. "I'm not too old to be spoiled, right Wendi?"

"Right, and spoil me while you're at it."

"Hey, I already spoil you!" Ciaran argued.

"No, you don't!" Wendi laughed.

Sage watched his parents bicker with interest. Then he glanced at Gen and cooed softly. "You're right." she laughed. "I'll just spoil you."

Her laughter quickly died as the front door opened and Remus, looking away from them, said, "Out. I need to talk to your mum."


	43. Chapter 43

All Grown Up

Chapter 43

Ciaran and Wendi were drenched. Elizabeth had gotten through her bath fine, but Sage was being fussy, kicking and splashing, soaking his parents, the bathroom walls and floor, and basically everything else within five feet of the tub.

And it did not help that his father's attention was on other things. "I didn't like Daddy's tone." he muttered with a sigh, wrapping Sage tightly in his towel.

"I know you didn't." Wendi said, her tone patient, but her expression exhausted. She carried a half-asleep Elizabeth to the living room and curled up on the couch with her daughter in her arms, stifling a yawn.

"Go to bed, Wendi." Ciaran murmured softly as he held a fussy Sage. "I know you're tired."

"It's too early." Wendi said with a sympathetic smile. "And it looks like you've got your hands full. Once she goes to sleep, I'll try to get him to sleep, all right?"

"Wendi, if you're tired, go to bed. I can handle Sage." Ciaran, too, sounded exhausted. But he paced the floor, murmuring softly to Sage, who was sniffling and reaching for his father's bangs in anger.

"Oh, Sage." Ciaran sighed a few minutes later. "Why tonight? I'm tired, your mother's tired, Elizabeth's tired."

"Elizabeth's asleep." Wendi corrected. As she passed Ciaran to place a sleeping Elizabeth in the crib, she added, "And Daddy isn't as tired as he is worried, admit it."

Ciaran stuck his tongue out at Wendi and snapped, "Who asked you, anyway?"

"It's obvious." Wendi laughed.

Ciaran looked his son and said, "Sage, women are evil. They're nothing but trouble, especially your mother."

"Actually, Sage," Wendi said as she came back into the living room and took Sage from Ciaran, "your father's worse."

"Hey!"

"It's true and you know it." Wendi said smugly as Sage sighed and yawned, resting his head on his mother's shoulder. "You worry about your mother, you worry about your father, you worry about Sage, Elizabeth and myself, but you don't worry about you."

Ciaran rolled his eyes and said, "Wendi, as long as someone else worries about me, I don't think I need to worry about myself."

"Oh, listen to Daddy, Sage." Wendi giggled. "He thinks he's something. Go on." she added to Ciaran. "I know you want to check on your mother, so go."

"Thank you." Ciaran smiled, grabbing his jacket from the back of the couch, where he had tossed it after they had arrived home, and racing out the door.

Wendi smiled softly at Sage and said, "OK, your turn to go to sleep."

Ciaran timidly headed up the steps to his parents' house, not bothering to knock; instead, he pulled out his wand, whispered a quick "_Alohomora!"_, and nervously peeking inside.

"Not what I expected to see." he smiled as his father glanced up at him. His father was sitting at one end of the couch, his mother curled up beside him, her head resting on his chest. She was fast asleep.

"Not what I expected to happen." Remus said softly, trying to to disturb Gen. "Your mother and I started to argue, yes, but then she said something about a headache, curled up on the couch and next thing I know, I'm holding her and she's asleep."

"Well, you did say she's sneaky." Ciaran smiled. "She let you have it?" he asked casually, trying to hold his yawn back.

"She tried." Remus smiled. "I didn't hold back, either." he added at the look on his son's face. Shaking his head, Remus said, "You do realize how badly your mother would scold you if she knew how wet you are."

Ciaran glanced his clothes and said, "Well, yeah, I do." he shrugged. "Sage didn't want his bath. So, he soaked us. And the bathroom itself."

Remus smiled and said, "Sounds a lot like someone else I knew at that age."

Ciaran rolled his eyes and muttered something about heading home, changing and going to bed.

"You'd better get out of here before your mum wakes up." Remus chuckled.

At the door, Ciaran paused and asked, "Daddy, a favor?"

"What kind?" Remus asked patiently.

"Would you and Mum mind babysitting tomorrow? I kind of want to spend the day with Wendi."

"No problem."


	44. Chapter 44

All Grown Up

Note: Longer than I thought. But I figured if I'm going to wrap it up soon, Gen and Reme need a heart-to-heart.

Chapter 44

Gen had just curled up in Remus's chair, having left him still asleep, when there was a knock at the door. Wendi looked irritated as she muttered a quick "Good morning" to Gen. Ciaran gave his mother an apologetic smile as he gently handed her a sleeping Sage.

"I feel terrible leaving them with you, Mum." Ciaran began softly as Wendi scowled and shifted Elizabeth, who was whimpering softly, to her other arm.

"Don't." Gen smiled. "It's my job as a grandmother to watch them. And, besides, you two haven't had a day to yourselves."

"Thank you!" Wendi said with another glare at Ciaran.

"But --"

Gen smiled at Wendi and said, "Wendi, take him whenever you two plan on going before he changes his mind."

"Gladly." Wendi smiled, getting Elizabeth settled on the floor before she practically dragged a protesting Ciaran out the door.

Smiling as shaking her head, Gen glanced at Sage, who had just woke up. "Come on." she said, gingerly picking up Elizabeth as well before carrying them both to the bedroom she shared with Remus.

She crawled into bed with the twins, giggling. Remus muttered something in his sleep. Elizabeth began to coo as she crawled over to him. With a groan, Remus pulled the blankets over his head.

"I hope you didn't forget your promise to your son." Gen said cheerfully as Sage, who had opted to stay curled up in her arms instead of attempting to wake up Remus, yawned.

"Of course I didn't." came Remus's muffled reply. "Although, you could have let me sleep a little while longer."

"Oh, no. I can't watch them by myself."

"But Gwendolyn, I'm exhausted, and I won't be getting any sleep tonight -- "

"Neither will I." Gen pointed out. "I'm going to be too worried about you, and Ciaran, and your little red-head of a granddaughter."

"You still worry about me?" Remus asked, peering out from under the blankets, which caused Elizabeth to squeal with laughter.

"Of course I do. What kind of a woman would I be if I didn't?" As Remus opened his mouth to answer, she quickly added, "Don't answer that."

"No, Gen, honest, I was going to say something good."

"No, you weren't." Gen said, shaking her head.

With a tiny sigh, Remus said, "Gen, let me a quick shower, and then I'll help you watch these little munchkins." He brushed a light kiss against her cheek as she got up, still holding Sage, and reached for Elizabeth as well.

Remus grabbed Elizabeth and carried her into the living room for Gen then gave her another light kiss before heading into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Sage wanted to stay with his grandmother, but Elizabeth was quite keen on getting in any mischief she could manage. Gen winced as she heard a soft shattering sound, and the squeals of the occupants of the photograph Elizabeth had knocked over as she tried to reach Deon, who was fast asleep in her cage.

"Elizabeth," Gen groaned wearily. She pulled her wand from her pocket and, with the quick sweeping motion, the picture was back on the end table, carefully mended. With another swish of her wand, Gen sent Elizabeth back to the middle of the living room floor where she could keep an eye on her. Elizabeth, looking confused for one moment, really enjoyed that.

"That's one way of doing it." Remus smiled, picking up Elizabeth and carrying her over to the couch. Then he frowned. "Gen, I'm sorry if I upset you. I meant it. I was going to say something nice."

"Forget it." she sighed softly. "I really don't feel like arguing right now. Especially with these two around."

Remus opened his mouth to protest, then quickly shut it. It was then he realized that Elizabeth was watching him. "What's the matter, sweetie?' he asked her. She let out a tiny whimper and clung to him. "I know, sweetie." he sighed softly.

"Now why couldn't you have been like that with Ciaran?" Gen demanded.

"I thought we weren't arguing."

"What's the point in arguing?" Gen spat. "You don't even listen to me anyway."

Remus groaned inwardly and said, "Gwendolyn, please, not right now." Elizabeth glanced up at him, her blue eyes brimming with tears as she heard the anger in his voice. "Don't cry, Elizabeth." Remus sighed softly. "I'm not yelling at you."

"No, he's yelling at me." Gen said, her voice breaking.

"I'm not yelling, Gwendolyn." Remus sighed. "I'm just saying.. what are we even fussing about, anyway?"

"The fact that you worry more about your granddaughter than you ever did your son!"

The twins were unsure of what she had said, but both of them immediately burst into tears. Gen and Remus tried to quiet them, but to no avail.

"Please, Sage." Gen pleaded, her own blue eyes glittering with tears. "Calm down. We didn't mean to upset you. We'll stop arguing, just calm down."

Remus had managed to calm Elizabeth down, but Sage wailed even louder. "Trade?" Remus asked, handing Gen Elizabeth and carefully taking Sage from her.

"How do you do it?" Gen asked exhausted as Sage quickly quieted down.

"I honestly have no idea." Remus smiled.

"It's cute." Gen murmured softly.

"What's on your mind, Gwendolyn?"

"What makes you think something's on my mind?" she asked with a tiny sigh.

"Because." Remus answered with a soft smile. "That's usually the way you act when you're thinking. I'm just curious, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I was thinking about when Ciaran was this little." Gen murmured sadly. "I miss that so much. He was so sweet and..." she trailed off, her voice breaking once more. With a watery smile at Elizabeth, Gen added, "I kind of want another one, Remus, but I don't think we should risk it. We've already got one little cub."

Remus said nothing for a little while, then he sighed and said, "Gwendolyn, looking between the lines of what you just said and how you said it, I'd say you're feeling a bit down on yourself right now."

"I am." she nodded. "I – It's just, you know, with Sage and Elizabeth around now, it makes me realize I wasn't a very good mother to Ciaran."

"Hey, I was the bad parent, remember?" Remus asked with a tiny smile. "We'll have to talk about this later, though, Gwendolyn. Right now, we have babysitting to do."

"You're right." Gen muttered, wiping her eyes. "As always."

Remus smiled faintly at her, then caught a glimpse at the clock. "I didn't realize I had slept that late. Ready for lunch? I'll make it, if you want."

"I'm not really hungry right now." Gen said.

Remus carefully handed Sage to Gen, who did not enjoy having two very small persons crawling all over her, and headed to the kitchen. "You sure you don't want anything?" he called.

"Honey, if you're cooking, no." Gen laughed.

"You're not that better at cooking, Gwendolyn!" Remus called with a scowl. He chose to make a light lunch of soup and coffee and headed back to the living room.

Sage was interested in Remus's lunch and wound up eating the vast majority of the soup. Elizabeth merely yawned and curled up in Gen's lap, falling asleep almost immediately. "Why don't you take a nap, too, Gwen? I'm sure I can handle Sage by myself."

"No, I'm fine, Remus." Gen yawned. "I just hope Wendi and Ciaran get back soon."

"Why?" Remus asked. "I thought you enjoyed your grandchildren's company."

"I do." Gen murmured, sounding as though she were fighting sleep. "But I want your company."

"Oh, you would." Remus laughed. "And all that talk earlier about the risk being to big was for nothing, wasn't it?"

"No." Gen giggled. "I'm sticking by that. And besides, there are other ways -- "

" -- I don't want to hear this!" Remus interrupted quickly. He scowled as Gen began to laugh. "And you shouldn't be talking about that with small children are around."

"I know. I don't think I should be talking about that around you, either." Gen said, still giggling. "Oh, Remus, don't give me that look, even though it is cute." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and smiled. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course." Remus smiled. But he did not get to say anything else. Sage and Elizabeth were not too happy with their grandparents ignoring them. Sage whimpered and reached for Remus's hair, grabbed a handful and tugged. Elizabeth began to whimper sadly, having woken up a few minutes earlier.

"Oh, Lizzy." Gen sighed softly, brushing the soft red hair out of Elizabeth's eyes. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Glancing at Remus, she added, "I wish I knew where Ciaran and Wendi were. She needs her daddy."

"Hey, don't forget about me."

"I'm not, I'm not. But she could use her father right now."

"Give her here, Gwen." Remus murmured, gently placing Sage on the floor so he could play as he reached for Elizabeth, who immediately stretched her arms out to him, still whimpering.

Gen found herself on the floor, playing with Sage, who seemed to be enjoying her attention. "Oh, Remus, did you notice his hair's starting to get wavy?" she sighed softly.

"I did." Remus said off-handedly, all of his attention on Elizabeth.

Gen scowled but had no chance to reply. Ciaran and Wendi, Ciaran having let them in, were 'aww-ing' at the sight of Gen and Sage on the floor, Gen on her back and Sage on her stomach, and Remus holding Elizabeth, whose whimpers had quieted.

"They weren't any trouble?" Ciaran asked softly, taking Sage from Gen, which Sage did not appreciate.

"No. Elizabeth's been having a rough day, but that's understandable." Remus replied, handing Elizabeth to Wendi.

Ciaran nodded solemnly. "What about you, Mum?" he asked, turning to his mother. "Are you getting used to your grandmotherly duties?"

"I suppose I am." Gen smiled. Her tone changed as she added, "But, sweetheart, be careful tonight. Please."

"I will. Aren't I always?"

Remus followed them to the door and, in whisper, he said, "Your mother can't help but worry. You know that. Wendi, if you would, please keep her company tonight."

"Sure." Wendi said softly. "I don't think I could handle it just being myself and Sage tonight. It'll be too quiet, you know?" Her expression was similar to Gen's every full moon: worried and exhausted.

Remus gave her a reassuring smile and thanked her. 'At least Gen'll have company tonight.' he thought. He headed back inside, wanting to spend a few hours with Gen before the full moon.


	45. Chapter 45

All Grown Up

Chapter 45

Gen found laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling far better than trying to reassure a nervous Wendi that Ciaran and Remus were fine. And that the Healers were taking good care of Elizabeth. Sage had fallen asleep earlier, so Wendi had nothing else to occupy herself with.

"I mean, really, Ciaran is so... so... he doesn't think! What if he bit someone on accident? What if -- "

Gen let out a groan of annoyance and headed into the kitchen, coming back a few moments later with a glass of sherry. "You want some?" Gen asked.

"No, thank you. And you shouldn't have any, either."

"Wendi, I always get wasted every full moon." Gen began casually as she sipped her sherry. "Always have, always will. So don't even try to talk to me out of it."

"But -- "

"But nothing." Gen murmured, finished her glass quickly and setting it on the end table. Deon was hooting in an annoyed sort of way. She wanted out, but Gen never allowed her out on the full moon.

Wendi frowned at Gen. "It's not fair that you do that to Ciaran and his father. They hate it when you drink."

"But they understand this." Gen murmured. With a weary groan, she stretched out on the couch once more, her hair falling in her face. "Wendi, I'm sorry if I sound irritated, I can't help it."

"It's understandable." Wendi murmured faintly.

"It's also understandable that you worry about Ciaran." Gen said with a reassuring smile. "Believe me, it's hard NOT to worry about him."

Wendi gave Gen an appreciative smile and said, "You know, I've always thought you've done a good job of keeping your concerns about your son hidden. Until lately, that is."

Gen laughed and said, "Well, I guess I can take that as a compliment."

Wendi sighed wearily, and, stifling a yawn, she asked, "You stay up all night?" When Gen nodded, she said, "I don't see how. I'm so tired."

"I can't sleep." Gen shrugged. "If you're tired, then you can use the guest room. You and Sage. I know how uncomfortable holding him for that long while he's sleeping can be."

Thankfully, Wendi carried Sage back to the guest room. But a little while later, she found she could not sleep. Stifling another yawn, she curled up in a tiny ball, trying to go to sleep. She wasn't about to admit it Gen that she couldn't sleep. Knowing Gen, she would tell her to take some kind of sleeping potion.

And she wasn't too sure about Gen's potion-making abilities.

Sage found it a great time to wake up bawling. Gen immediately peeked in, making sure he was fine. "I've got him, Wendi." Gen murmured, gently picking up and loving on Sage, who continued to wail. "Go back to sleep, both of you."

"I can't sleep." Wendi said weakly.

"I knew you wouldn't." Gen said with a frown as Sage began to wail louder. "If you want to try, I'm sure I can handle him."

"No, no, that's all right." Wendi said with a sigh as she scrambled out of bed and took her son from Gen. "Between the two of us, I think we can get him to stop."

"He's not hungry, he doesn't need changing, I don't know what his problem is." Wendi said, sounding exhausted as she paced the living room, making soft shushing noises to Sage. Which had zero effect on his crying.

"It might be a night terror." Gen sighed. "Ciaran used to get them all the time."

"Might be." Wendi murmured distractedly. "What time is it?" she added with yet another yawn.

"It's about three in the morning." Gen said with her own yawn. "And I," she added, getting to her feet, "could use another sherry. Or maybe something stronger."

Wendi opened her mouth to protest, then shut up, shaking her head sadly as Gen came back, with an entire bottle of Firewhiskey.

A short while later, Sage finally began to calm down. He sniffled and glanced at his mother, who murmured gently back to him.

"Do you plan on drinking until you pass out?" Wendi asked, catching a glimpse of Gen, who was scowling at her nearly empty bottle.

"Maybe." Gen shrugged.

Wendi groaned inwardly. Gen was no help at all. But, thankfully, Sage had fallen asleep again.

And that was exactly how an exhausted Remus and Ciaran found them the next morning: Wendi and Sage curled up in the chair, and Gen stretched out on the couch, her empty bottle on the floor.

"Trust Mum to drink." Ciaran said with a faint smile. "If you'll excuse me, I'm commandeering the guest bed. I'm too tired to go home."

"We're just going to leave them like this, not even tell them we're home?" Remus asked, shoo-ing Ciaran towards the guest room.

"Yup. They'll wake up, then freak out because we didn't tell them. But let's let them sleep for right now. It's better than them babying us."


	46. Chapter 46

All Grown Up

Chapter 46

Ciaran awoke to his parents and Wendi having a hushed, yet heated, discussion. "Wha's goin' on?" he asked with yawn as he leaned against the door frame of the guest room door, looking from his mother, who was wearing her traveling cloak and looking angry, to his father, who was simply trying to reason with both of them, to Wendi, who was scowling at his mother.

"Oh, Ciaran, I'm so sorry, we didn't mean to wake you up." Gen began softly. "Go back to bed."

"What's going on?" he demanded again.

"Your mother wants to go get Elizabeth, alone, so she can get her back here quickly. Wendi wants to go, too. As do I."

"You're too tired." Gen said, a snap in her voice. "Remus, it'll be quicker if I go."

"But -- "

"Wendi, she's right." Ciaran pointed out.

"Oh, thanks, Ciaran." Wendi said, pouting. She turned and headed into the living room in a huff.

"Sorry." Ciaran said to his parents. "You know how she is about Elizabeth. Hurry back, Mum."

"I will." Gen said with a faint smile.

After she had left, Remus turned his attention to his son. "Ciaran, why don't you go back to bed? You look exhausted."

"I'm fine." Ciaran muttered, glancing towards the living room, then back at his father. "Besides, that's something Mum would say."

"Well, your mother would be right."

"I know." Ciaran said with a grin. "But she's not here, and besides, someone needs to talk to Wendi before she spends the rest of the day pouting."

Ciaran headed into the living room and sat down next to Wendi, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Wendi, Mum'll be back soon enough, and you'll have Lizzy back. You know my mum's only looking out for us."

"I know." Wendi sighed. "But it's my place to watch out for the twins."

"Mine, too." Ciaran pointed out. "But --"

Before he could finish, the front door opened and Gen stepped inside with Elizabeth snuggled up next to her, her arms around her grandmother's neck. But once she saw her father, she quickly released Gen and reached for him.

"Hey, sweetie." Ciaran murmured, taking Elizabeth from Gen. He glanced at his mother, but her small smile answered his unasked question.

Elizabeth began to coo happily, glad to have her father's undivided attention. She didn't want her mother, or her grandmother for that matter. She wanted her daddy. When Wendi reached for her, she whimpered and clung tightly to Ciaran.

"You're all right, sweetheart." Ciaran murmured. "Why don't you go to Mummy for a moment, hmm?"

Elizabeth, however, was determined to stay with him.

Ciaran glanced at his mother, who smiled, shook her head, and quickly left the room.

"She doesn't like me much, does she?" Wendi murmured softly.

"Who, Mum or Elizabeth?" Ciaran murmured.

"Both of them." Wendi said with a sad sigh.

"They do, Wendi, it's just... you know how Mum is. And Lizzy and I have bonded."

Wendi opened her mouth to protest further, but quickly shut it again, shaking her head. "Whatever you say, Ciaran." she murmured.

"Wendi... nevermind. Go see if you can get Sage from my dad and we'll go home, all right?"

"Thanks." Wendi sighed. She seemed slightly more cheerful as she, Sage, Elizabeth, and Ciaran left.


	47. Chapter 47

All Grown Up

Chapter 47

Note: I'll probably be ending this next chapter, if I can bring myself to do so. I'm open to any long-fics you guys want to see. So just ask and I'll try to get it done.

Smiling softly at the sight of Ciaran asleep on the couch, with Elizabeth curled up on his chest, Wendi headed into the kitchen for a cup of tea. Sage, who had just eaten his lunch and was trying to fight sleep, reached for Wendi, who happily took him.

"Why don't you give in, Sage?" Wendi asked softly, balancing him on her lap. "A nap would do you some good right now, little man."

Sage's answer was a loud yawn.

Wendi smiled again. "See? You even agree with me."

Sage reached for her tea with interest, his clumsy little baby fingers accidentally knocking it off the table, causing the cup to break and tea to go everywhere.

"Oh, Sage." Wendi sighed, reaching for a nearby rag. She set Sage on the floor and silently mopped up the mess. "I really think you need a nap now."

With another yawn, Sage whimpered. He didn't want a nap. Not just yet, anyway. He wanted to play with Elizabeth. But since she was asleep, and so was Daddy, all he had was Mummy. And she, apparently, did not want to play.

With another whimper, he looked towards the living room.

Wendi, misunderstanding the baby lingo, carried him to the living room, shushing softly as she curled up in the love seat. Sage whimpered once more, this time reaching for Elizabeth and Ciaran.

"No, Sage, they're both tired." Wendi murmured. "And I know you are, too. So go to sleep, OK? And maybe I can catch a little cat nap as well."

Sage, however, was too annoyed to be sleepy anymore. And so he began to cry. Loudly.

"Sage, shush, please!" Wendi whimpered, gently rocking him. "Don't wake them up!"

Sage merely cried louder.

"Wha happened?" Ciaran muttered sleepily, glancing around. "What's the matter with him?" he asked with a yawn.

"I don't know." Wendi said, her tone oozing exhaustion. "I guess he wants either you or Elizabeth. He was reaching for you both and I told him no, so he started to cry."

Ciaran gave her a sympathetic smile and carefully got up, holding a still-sleeping Elizabeth. "How she can sleep through this, I don't think I'll ever know." he said softly.

Upon hearing his father, Sage's bawling subsided to the softest whimpers he could muster. Sure, Daddy wasn't Elizabeth, but he was awfully fun when he wanted to be.

"Oh, he would want you." Wendi sighed. To Sage, she added, "Daddy's got Elizabeth right now, sweetie. Looks like you're stuck with me."

Sage was not too happy about that and quickly readied himself to cry once more. However, his father spoke next.

"I've got Lizzy right now, Sage. Mummy's not that bad, now is she?"

Sage look from his father to his mother and hiccuped. Ciaran smiled and said, "See? She won't bite you, will you, Wendi?"

"No, I won't." Wendi murmured. "That's Daddy's job."

"Yes, it is." Ciaran laughed. "But I would never. I just dread telling them both when they're older. I can finally understand my mother not wanting my father to tell me when I was so young."

"But with Elizabeth being one -- "

"The sooner the better." Ciaran finished weakly. "I figure as soon as they're walking."

"Too early!" Wendi spluttered.

"Yeah." Ciaran laughed. "You sound just like my mother."


	48. Chapter 48

All Grown Up

Chapter 48

Ciaran, holding Elizabeth, was sitting between his mother and Wendi at one of the tables outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Remus, with Sage, was opposite Ciaran, wincing as ice cream went everywhere. "You weren't this messy when you were eating my soup." Remus muttered. Sage merely looked at him before diving back into the ice cream.

"Yes, well, with your cooking, I don't think anyone would eat like that." Gen laughed.

"Who asked you, Gwendolyn?"

Gen scowled as Ciaran chuckled. Dodging her swat in his direction, Ciaran said, "Oh, Mum, I nearly forgot. You and Wendi are much more alike than you think you are."

"How so?" Gen demanded, still scowling at him.

After Ciaran told her what Wendi had said, she said, "Yes, well, she's right. That is a little too young, Ciaran."

"I knew you'd say that." Ciaran said, rolling his eyes at his father, who smiled knowingly.

Wendi, however, smiled appreciatively at Gen. Getting a confused look from Ciaran, Wendi sighed heavily and said, "Ciaran, your mum knows what she's talking about, all right? I mean, your parents told you when you were rather young and..." She trailed off sheepishly.

"Oh, what? Is everyone against me, now?" Ciaran joked. Elizabeth glanced at him and cooed happily. "No," he smiled. "Not everyone. At least you love your daddy."

"Oh, Ciaran," Gen sighed. "I do love you, I just... don't agree with your parenting that much. It's too much like your father's." She let out a yelp of pain as Remus kicked her under the table.

"I didn't kick you that hard." Remus smiled.

"Oh, NOW you want to be playful." Gen laughed.

Wendi and Ciaran glanced nervously at each other, which caused Remus to join in with Gen's laughter.

Elizabeth began to grow annoyed with Ciaran and reached for Gen, who quickly took her from Ciaran. "And now she doesn't love me anymore." Ciaran laughed.

"Yes, she does." Gen said, sharing her banana split with Elizabeth. "She just loves me more."

"Everyone loves you more." Ciaran said with a slight pout.

"I don't!" Wendi giggled, brushing a kiss against Ciaran's cheek.

"Yeah, your dad doesn't, either." Gen giggled.

"Don't bring me in this!" Remus grinned. "I want no part of this argument. And neither does Sage." Sage giggled in response.

"Ciaran started it!" Gen smiled. "Or, no, actually, I think Elizabeth did."

"You started it." Ciaran pouted.

"Hey, if it wasn't for me starting it, you wouldn't be around, so hush." Gen laughed.

"Well," Ciaran smiled, "you're sure in a happy mood today, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." Gen sighed happily. "Please don't ask me why. I really have no idea."

"I didn't plan on asking." Ciaran smiled. "Knowing you, I really wouldn't want to know."

"I didn't plan on telling you, anyway!" Gen smiled. "Actually, that doesn't really work, now does it?"

"Not really, Gwendolyn." Remus said with a sigh. Sage, it seemed, had finished with Remus's ice cream. He yawned and looking patiently at Remus, who smiled softly. "Gen, I want another one."

"No!" Gen said quickly.

"That was too quick, Mum." Ciaran pointed out. "You can't say you don't want another one. Because I really wouldn't mind a little sister."

"No," Gen said again, her happy mood all but disappearing. "You've got them you can spoil, Remus. I would think you would be happy with Sage and Elizabeth."

"Well, yes," Remus began slowly. "I am happy with these two. But I wouldn't mind another of my own."

"But they are yours, by proxy." Gen pointed out.

"You know what I mean, Gwendolyn." Remus said with a tiny smile. "But we can talk about this later."

"Fine." Gen pouted. Elizabeth began to yawn and snuggled closer to Gen. "Aw, Lizzy, you can't be that tired." Gen murmured softly, brushing Elizabeth's hair out of her face.

Remus rolled his eyes to Ciaran and, to Gen, he said, "See? You're so good with children."

"Yeah, Mum, look at you." Ciaran said.

"Oh, leave her alone." Wendi sighed.

Turning to his father, Ciaran sighed sadly and shook his head. "They're both against us."

"Women." Remus sighed. It was his turn to wince as Gen kicked him under the table. "Oh, I didn't kick you that hard." he groaned. "Nowhere near that hard."

"Bit abusive, isn't she?" Ciaran commented.

"Yes, well, I think your dad deserved that." Wendi said, her tone quite casual, but she was grinning.

"I think he did, too." Gen giggled. She glanced down at Elizabeth, who had fallen asleep and was snoring softly. "Awww, isn't she sweet?"

"Most of the month, I would assume so." Remus smiled. "But this one... well, I don't know about him."

Sage smiled innocently as he reached across the table for his mother's ice cream. He whimpered, his fingers sending her dish flopping across the table. As ice cream splattered all over himself, and Remus, he began to cry.

"I think I'll have to agree with you, Sage." Remus muttered, shaking his ice cream-sodden hair out of his face. "Come on, let's go get cleaned up."

After they left, Ciaran turned to Gen and asked, "So, you won't even consider having another child?" When Gen shook her head, he asked, "Well, why not? It would make Daddy happy."

"I know it would," Gen sighed sadly. "But I don't think I'm up to it right now."

Ciaran opened his mouth to ask her another question, but quickly shut it as Wendi glared at him. 'Don't pry.' Wendi mouthed.

The three of them said nothing until Remus returned, took one look at the three of them, and joking asked, "Did someone die in that short span of time I was gone?"

"No, of course not, Remus." Gen sighed.

"Anything the matter, then?" When Gen shook her head, Remus decided it would be better to answer for her. "Yes," he smiled. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"It's nothing, Remus." Gen said, adopting a falsely cheerful tone. Getting to her feet, she added, "I thought we were taking these two to the Magical Menagerie?"

Once inside the cramped shop, Gen and Remus hung back as Ciaran and Wendi examined the critters with Sage and Elizabeth. "Ciaran ask you why you didn't want another child?" Remus asked softly, wrapping his arm around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Gen murmured.

"Figured that was it." Remus frowned. They watched as Elizabeth picked out a puffskein and cooed happily at it as it hummed back.

"Remind you of anyone?" Gen asked with a smile.

"Mm-hmm. She's going to be just like him. I'll bet you anything."

"Mm-hmm. It's rather sweet." Gen murmured. "Makes me want another one."

"Then give in, already." Ciaran said as he passed her to check out the owls. "And, yes, Mother, I'm finally going to listen to you and get an owl. Happy?"

"Very." Gen smiled.

"And now you'll stop giving poor Deon quite a workout. So help me out pick out a good one."

With a weary smile at Remus, she headed over to Ciaran, "What do you think of this one?" he asked her, staring at a snowy owl, who stared back.

"He is rather pretty." Gen said distractedly.

"Mm-hmm. I guess he'll do." Ciaran said, carrying the cage to the saleswitch, where two small puffskeins also waited.

"Well," Gen said, rejoining Remus, who looked slightly amused, "I can't help but be proud of him."

"Oh?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gen nodded and added, "I mean, he's not doing too bad a job, is he?"

"No, of course he's not." Remus smiled. "But you act as though it's a bad thing."

"It's not... it's just... I didn't figure he'd already be married and have a family this young. And don't say we did. I know we did. I just hoped he had more sense than us."

"Well," Remus laughed, "more than you, anyway."

"Unfair." Gen smiled. "And that's not what I was getting at, anyway."

"I know what you meant." Remus grinned. "Give your son some credit, Gwendolyn."

"Yeah, Mum. I deserve some credit." Ciaran called as he handed Elizabeth to her and headed back to get the owl and his cage. "Even though I have no idea what you two are talking about."

"Well, your mother says she's proud of you, and the way she said it, it seemed like she's never given you credit and I told her she needed to."

"Yeah, Mum! I do deserve a little credit!" Ciaran said, looking appalled. "Well, OK, more than a little."

"Way more than a little." Remus said in agreement. "I just think your mum isn't used to giving people credit. You'll have to forgive her."

"I'm always giving YOU credit, Lupin." Gen giggled. "So hush."

Wendi watched them argue, merely shaking her head and smiling. "Ciaran," she began softly, glancing at Sage, who was fast asleep. "Can you wrap this up, please? We need to get him home."

"Right, right." Ciaran sighed. "Despite the arguing, this has been pretty fun. I really hope we can do it again some time."

"Me, too." Gen murmured, brushing a light kiss against his cheek.

Elizabeth whimpered and reached for Ciaran, who frowned. He couldn't carry the cage and her at the same time. "Stay with Gran for a minute, sweetie. I'll be right back."

He quickly Disapparated and returned a couple minutes later. "Told you I wouldn't be too long." he murmured, taking Elizabeth from Gen. To his parents, he added, "Well, Mum, I suppose it'll be a little while before we see you again. Wendi and I are moving --"

"You what?" Gen asked. "When? And why didn't you tell me?"

"Why else would I buy an owl?" Ciaran asked.

Gen looked from Remus to Ciaran and back again. "Remus..." Gen began softly, nearly pleading with him.

"I don't have a problem with it, Gwendolyn." Remus shrugged. "And you shouldn't either."

"It's not the end of the world, Mum." Ciaran began with a smile. "So don't panic."

Gen, however, felt as though it was. With a sigh, Ciaran glanced at his father and said, "Look, we've really got to go. I'm sorry, Mum. It's not too far, I swear."

When Gen did not answer, Remus gently nudged her. "Gwendolyn... aren't you going to say anything to your son?"

Gen shook her head.

Ciaran smiled faintly and said, "Well, there goes any credit she felt was due towards me. Mum, I'll see you both around. I promise." He brushed a light kiss against her cheek and raced to catch up with Wendi.

"Well..." Remus began. "Kind of hard, isn't it?"

"Yeah, really." Gen sighed. "Remus, I don't want them to move."

"I know. But Ciaran says it won't be too far. And besides, we can always be there in a second. You know that."

Gen nodded, feeling miserable.

"It's not like he's leaving forever, Gwendolyn. Besides, they deserve some alone time. And we do, too." He took Gen's hand and quickly Disapparated. "You going to be all right?" Remus asked softly.

"I guess so." Gen said, sinking down on the couch. "I have to be, don't I?"

"Yes, you do." Remus said, heading into the kitchen. "And, let me guess: you need a drink right about now?"

"Exactly." Gen laughed.


End file.
